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Description
Everything...everything was so red...  So red that it was almost black.  His wings were screaming and he could tell that a good chunk had been taken out of his torso, but somehow all that was numb to him.  All he could think of was how very wrong it all seemed, how he'd never expected the situation to get this desperate...and of course all the blood.  It was impossible to ignore just how much blood there was dyeing the grass, the trees...her corpse.  His beloved, pure Alia, who had always been a bright, pristine golden white was now stained a deep scarlet...and was still...so still.  It was unreal, in a way.  He could not believe that she was dead, and that he would soon be following her...

Adon jerked himself awake.  He realized and was faintly irked that his neck ached horribly and he was covered in sweat.  He was even more irked to find that he was trembling.

"Really...ten years and I still can't get over it..." he muttered to himself as he straightened as much as his abused neck could handle.  Noir, who at some point in the night had huddled up in his lap, stirred from her slumber to give him a perfectly adorable, drowsy purr.  By now she knew how to deal with her master in such a state.  She nudged against the hand that was settled at her side until its owner was compelled to use it to scratch tiredly at her ears.  After several minutes of her therapeutic purring, the shivering subsided and Adon brought himself to look at the clock on the small table next to him.  "6:30...too early to go to school, and too late to go back to sleep..." he muttered, feeling thoroughly exhausted, as if he really hadn't slept at all.  For the moment, he settled on simply letting his head loll back onto the couch to at least spare that part of him some pain.

At that exact moment, the phone rang.

Adon slowly turned his head to stare at the phone in amazement, wondering who could possibly be calling before the sun was even completely up.  With an internal groan and an external grimace, he forced himself to lean over to grab the phone, barely reaching it before the answering machine picked up.  "Hello?"

"'Mornin' Adon!  Did I wake you?"

He let his eyes slip shut and a slight sigh escaped his lips at the eternally cheery voice.  "No, Maia.  I just woke up myself."

"Awww, that's no fun then.  I was planning on calling you at the crack of dawn, so then you'd be all grumpy and snarky like you are whenever you miss out on your beauty sleep.  Then, after you oh-so-heartlessly let into me for doing it, I'd act really upset and guilt you into having breakfast with me.  Damn.  Now I have to bribe you or something!" the chirpy voice on the other end complained.

Adon's brow furrowed as he listened to her babble on.  "Breakfast?  What?  Wait, what are you doing up so early yourself?  You're not expected at the shop until nine, right?" he asked, referring to Maia's job at a local flower shop.  In his opinion, spending all day helping hopeless suitors pick out gaudy flowers suits her just perfectly.

He could hear her pacing around on the other side of the phone.  "Well, yeah, but Mrs. Pandalion is having me run all over creation with some deliveries today since Joe got pneumonia.  Got to get started early!  So I was figuring that I'd lure you into getting up extra early and having breakfast with me!  Then we'd both have a good start to our day!"

Adon fought the instinct to roll his eyes, knowing that that would not help with his headache.  "Maia, my day has already gotten off to a decidedly bad start..." he started, but she quickly cut him off.

"Then I'll just have to make it better!  I'll meet you at the Early Bird cafe at seven, 'kay?  And don't say that you don't know where it is--I know for a fact that you used to work there.  Bye, Adon-my-love!" she said very quickly, making sure that he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Adon stared at the silent phone in his hand for a full thirty seconds before he allowed himself to bury his head into a nearby pillow with an irritated growl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adon slipped into the little outdoor cafe as discreetly as possible, feeling somewhat embarrassed.  It really had been a charming little place, and he had truly enjoyed working there.  Besides, his boss had been crushed when he'd handed in his resignation.  However, once Maia had decided on something, it was difficult to change her mind...

He wove his way through the tables, looking for the one that held his frie--acquaintance.  Finally, after he'd been around and betwixt and almost underneath every table there at least twice, he gave up and figured that he'd gotten there before she, no matter how rare that was.  He was just starting to look for a waitress to help him find a table when long pair of arms fastened themselves around his neck and he felt a slim body press up to his back.  "Adon, you actually came!"

He turned around and very gently pried her arms from around his neck.  "Yes, Maia, I came.  You would never let me hear the end of it otherwise, am I right?" he asked sardonically at the girl in front of him.  She frowned and mock-pouted at him, twirling one raven curl around her index finger.  She could utilize her looks well, or at least on anyone other than Adon she could.  With big blue eyes and springy black curls that came down to her shoulders (not to mention those full, rosy cheeks), she looked almost like the sweet and innocent Snow White from fairy tales.  However, Adon not only had better looks, but he knew her true nature.  Both of these together rendered her puppy dog looks completely and totally useless.

"Not fair.  Of course I would, but that's only because you need to get out and live a little, Adon!  I do this for you and only you, dearest!" she insisted, slinging one arm around his neck and pulling him over to the table she'd already picked out.

As he sat down, he massaged his neck and made a mental note to pick up some Advil.  His demonic healing powers were just not what they'd used to be.  Maia sat herself across him and gave him a concerned look.  "Another night's bad sleep?  Adon, you really need to take better care of yourself.  Honestly, I don't know how you lived this long!" she said, leaning across the table to take one of his hands in hers.

'You have no idea...' he mused.  "I'm fine, Maia.  Nothing that a bit of coffee and some painkillers won't fix..." he assured her, looking away from her and towards one of the waitresses that was heading towards them.

Maia gave a long-suffering sigh.  "Y'see, this is why you need yourself a girl.  You'll wear yourself out!  ...Oh, Lily!  Good to see you again!" she said, changing subjects as soon as the girl made her way to their table.  Adon, who was used to the spontaneity of his companion, did not comment.

Lily looked from Maia to Adon and grinned so broadly that, in Adon's humble opinion, it looked rather painful.  She rocked onto her toes and back onto her heels excitedly, her short brown ponytail bobbing as she did so.  "Adon, Maia!  I haven't seen you two in ages!  How've you been?  What have you been doing?  How's the kitten, Adon?" she asked in a rush.

Adon ignored the first two questions as he really did not want to answer them truthfully, and he felt to reason to lie to this girl.  "She's fine, Lily," he answered politely, trying not to betray too much on the subject.

Maia grinned and leaned back in her seat.  "That was a most excellent idea, giving him that kitten.  He's become very attached to little Noir, and she's the only thing that I've ever seen him pay any real attention to!  The only difficulty is getting him to graduate to girls...oh well.  One step at a time, ne?" she said brightly.

Lily giggled a little girlishly at that and nodded.  "But that might take awhile.  He's so stubborn!" she added, speaking about Adon as if he were some young child who did not happen to be sitting at the table.

Fighting the twitch threatening to overcome him, Adon cleared his throat.  "A coffee, please, Lily," he said, his tone bordering on dangerous.

Lily didn't even bother to hide her devious grin.  "Sure thing, Adon.  What would you like, Maia?" she asked, turning to the girl.

Maia appeared to think, but it was all really for nothing.  She got the same thing every time, and for that matter, so did Adon.  "Two eggs--scrambled--with sausage, bacon, and toast.  Cuppa with cream, too," she finally announced, as if they weren't both expecting it.

Lily just nodded and didn't bother writing anything down.  It was all routine, really.  Even when Adon had worked there the two had dined there often.  Soon the girl disappeared off into the general kitchen area, leaving the two alone again.

"Awww.  You never let me indulge in any girl talk, Adon!  No fun at all!" she said, ruining her mock-pout with a bit of a laugh.

Adon, managing to only look slightly peeved and not murderous, just glared.  "As if I have any choice in the matter.  I would just appreciate it if you wouldn't gossip about me when I'm around.  I know that I won't be able to stop you as a whole, but you can at least do me that courtesy," he said dryly.

Her eyes sparkled as she answered, "Yes, yes...of course, Adon dearest."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a nerve-wracking (or in Maia and Lily's case, fun) breakfast, Adon had finally managed to excuse himself from the presence of the two girls, saying that he had to go to school.  It was technically truth, but he had a feeling that he would have used that excuse even on a national holiday.

Maia watched his retreating form fondly before turning to look at the girl waiting behind her.  "And who might you be, my dear?  Another one of Adon's many admirers?  If you feel the need to know, he's completely single and I'd be happy to give you his personal information.  I'll warn you, though--he's a tough nut to crack.  I'm still trying to get him to admit that we're friends, and I've known him for years!  If you take him on, you'll be getting yourself a fair bit of trouble," she said conspiratorially, leaning in and stage whispering in a completely obvious manner.

The girl (who looked to be quite young, actually--but hey, beggars can't be choosers) gave a surprisingly cat-like grin.  However, if Adon was a predatory lion, this girl was a scrappy little wildcat.  "I'd like that...and as for his elusive personality...I know.  Believe me, I know."

Description
Everything...everything was so red...  So red that it was almost black.  His wings were screaming and he could tell that a good chunk had been taken out of his torso, but somehow all that was numb to him.  All he could think of was how very wrong it all seemed, how he'd never expected the situation to get this desperate...and of course all the blood.  It was impossible to ignore just how much blood there was dyeing the grass, the trees...her corpse.  His beloved, pure Alia, who had always been a bright, pristine golden white was now stained a deep scarlet...and was still...so still.  It was unreal, in a way.  He could not believe that she was dead, and that he would soon be following her...

Adon jerked himself awake.  He realized and was faintly irked that his neck ached horribly and he was covered in sweat.  He was even more irked to find that he was trembling.

"Really...ten years and I still can't get over it..." he muttered to himself as he straightened as much as his abused neck could handle.  Noir, who at some point in the night had huddled up in his lap, stirred from her slumber to give him a perfectly adorable, drowsy purr.  By now she knew how to deal with her master in such a state.  She nudged against the hand that was settled at her side until its owner was compelled to use it to scratch tiredly at her ears.  After several minutes of her therapeutic purring, the shivering subsided and Adon brought himself to look at the clock on the small table next to him.  "6:30...too early to go to school, and too late to go back to sleep..." he muttered, feeling thoroughly exhausted, as if he really hadn't slept at all.  For the moment, he settled on simply letting his head loll back onto the couch to at least spare that part of him some pain.

At that exact moment, the phone rang.

Adon slowly turned his head to stare at the phone in amazement, wondering who could possibly be calling before the sun was even completely up.  With an internal groan and an external grimace, he forced himself to lean over to grab the phone, barely reaching it before the answering machine picked up.  "Hello?"

"'Mornin' Adon!  Did I wake you?"

He let his eyes slip shut and a slight sigh escaped his lips at the eternally cheery voice.  "No, Maia.  I just woke up myself."

"Awww, that's no fun then.  I was planning on calling you at the crack of dawn, so then you'd be all grumpy and snarky like you are whenever you miss out on your beauty sleep.  Then, after you oh-so-heartlessly let into me for doing it, I'd act really upset and guilt you into having breakfast with me.  Damn.  Now I have to bribe you or something!" the chirpy voice on the other end complained.

Adon's brow furrowed as he listened to her babble on.  "Breakfast?  What?  Wait, what are you doing up so early yourself?  You're not expected at the shop until nine, right?" he asked, referring to Maia's job at a local flower shop.  In his opinion, spending all day helping hopeless suitors pick out gaudy flowers suits her just perfectly.

He could hear her pacing around on the other side of the phone.  "Well, yeah, but Mrs. Pandalion is having me run all over creation with some deliveries today since Joe got pneumonia.  Got to get started early!  So I was figuring that I'd lure you into getting up extra early and having breakfast with me!  Then we'd both have a good start to our day!"

Adon fought the instinct to roll his eyes, knowing that that would not help with his headache.  "Maia, my day has already gotten off to a decidedly bad start..." he started, but she quickly cut him off.

"Then I'll just have to make it better!  I'll meet you at the Early Bird cafe at seven, 'kay?  And don't say that you don't know where it is--I know for a fact that you used to work there.  Bye, Adon-my-love!" she said very quickly, making sure that he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Adon stared at the silent phone in his hand for a full thirty seconds before he allowed himself to bury his head into a nearby pillow with an irritated growl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adon slipped into the little outdoor cafe as discreetly as possible, feeling somewhat embarrassed.  It really had been a charming little place, and he had truly enjoyed working there.  Besides, his boss had been crushed when he'd handed in his resignation.  However, once Maia had decided on something, it was difficult to change her mind...

He wove his way through the tables, looking for the one that held his frie--acquaintance.  Finally, after he'd been around and betwixt and almost underneath every table there at least twice, he gave up and figured that he'd gotten there before she, no matter how rare that was.  He was just starting to look for a waitress to help him find a table when long pair of arms fastened themselves around his neck and he felt a slim body press up to his back.  "Adon, you actually came!"

He turned around and very gently pried her arms from around his neck.  "Yes, Maia, I came.  You would never let me hear the end of it otherwise, am I right?" he asked sardonically at the girl in front of him.  She frowned and mock-pouted at him, twirling one raven curl around her index finger.  She could utilize her looks well, or at least on anyone other than Adon she could.  With big blue eyes and springy black curls that came down to her shoulders (not to mention those full, rosy cheeks), she looked almost like the sweet and innocent Snow White from fairy tales.  However, Adon not only had better looks, but he knew her true nature.  Both of these together rendered her puppy dog looks completely and totally useless.

"Not fair.  Of course I would, but that's only because you need to get out and live a little, Adon!  I do this for you and only you, dearest!" she insisted, slinging one arm around his neck and pulling him over to the table she'd already picked out.

As he sat down, he massaged his neck and made a mental note to pick up some Advil.  His demonic healing powers were just not what they'd used to be.  Maia sat herself across him and gave him a concerned look.  "Another night's bad sleep?  Adon, you really need to take better care of yourself.  Honestly, I don't know how you lived this long!" she said, leaning across the table to take one of his hands in hers.

'You have no idea...' he mused.  "I'm fine, Maia.  Nothing that a bit of coffee and some painkillers won't fix..." he assured her, looking away from her and towards one of the waitresses that was heading towards them.

Maia gave a long-suffering sigh.  "Y'see, this is why you need yourself a girl.  You'll wear yourself out!  ...Oh, Lily!  Good to see you again!" she said, changing subjects as soon as the girl made her way to their table.  Adon, who was used to the spontaneity of his companion, did not comment.

Lily looked from Maia to Adon and grinned so broadly that, in Adon's humble opinion, it looked rather painful.  She rocked onto her toes and back onto her heels excitedly, her short brown ponytail bobbing as she did so.  "Adon, Maia!  I haven't seen you two in ages!  How've you been?  What have you been doing?  How's the kitten, Adon?" she asked in a rush.

Adon ignored the first two questions as he really did not want to answer them truthfully, and he felt to reason to lie to this girl.  "She's fine, Lily," he answered politely, trying not to betray too much on the subject.

Maia grinned and leaned back in her seat.  "That was a most excellent idea, giving him that kitten.  He's become very attached to little Noir, and she's the only thing that I've ever seen him pay any real attention to!  The only difficulty is getting him to graduate to girls...oh well.  One step at a time, ne?" she said brightly.

Lily giggled a little girlishly at that and nodded.  "But that might take awhile.  He's so stubborn!" she added, speaking about Adon as if he were some young child who did not happen to be sitting at the table.

Fighting the twitch threatening to overcome him, Adon cleared his throat.  "A coffee, please, Lily," he said, his tone bordering on dangerous.

Lily didn't even bother to hide her devious grin.  "Sure thing, Adon.  What would you like, Maia?" she asked, turning to the girl.

Maia appeared to think, but it was all really for nothing.  She got the same thing every time, and for that matter, so did Adon.  "Two eggs--scrambled--with sausage, bacon, and toast.  Cuppa with cream, too," she finally announced, as if they weren't both expecting it.

Lily just nodded and didn't bother writing anything down.  It was all routine, really.  Even when Adon had worked there the two had dined there often.  Soon the girl disappeared off into the general kitchen area, leaving the two alone again.

"Awww.  You never let me indulge in any girl talk, Adon!  No fun at all!" she said, ruining her mock-pout with a bit of a laugh.

Adon, managing to only look slightly peeved and not murderous, just glared.  "As if I have any choice in the matter.  I would just appreciate it if you wouldn't gossip about me when I'm around.  I know that I won't be able to stop you as a whole, but you can at least do me that courtesy," he said dryly.

Her eyes sparkled as she answered, "Yes, yes...of course, Adon dearest."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a nerve-wracking (or in Maia and Lily's case, fun) breakfast, Adon had finally managed to excuse himself from the presence of the two girls, saying that he had to go to school.  It was technically truth, but he had a feeling that he would have used that excuse even on a national holiday.

Maia watched his retreating form fondly before turning to look at the girl waiting behind her.  "And who might you be, my dear?  Another one of Adon's many admirers?  If you feel the need to know, he's completely single and I'd be happy to give you his personal information.  I'll warn you, though--he's a tough nut to crack.  I'm still trying to get him to admit that we're friends, and I've known him for years!  If you take him on, you'll be getting yourself a fair bit of trouble," she said conspiratorially, leaning in and stage whispering in a completely obvious manner.

The girl (who looked to be quite young, actually--but hey, beggars can't be choosers) gave a surprisingly cat-like grin.  However, if Adon was a predatory lion, this girl was a scrappy little wildcat.  "I'd like that...and as for his elusive personality...I know.  Believe me, I know."