An Angel Cast Onto Earth...[Charcoal Feathers]

[Anonymous]

Oliver was lost...as usual. The human world was so confusing. And, to top it off, he was worse off than usual. He had dark circles under his eyes, his clothes were torn, he had cuts all over him that looked like they were made by a knife, and he was too thin to be healthy..
   He sighed. Really. He looked like a bear had gotten at him! He continued walking along the path he was on, occasionaly stopping to rest. His wings folded behind him, and he leaned against a tree. Today was just not his day. At least there weren't a million people running around him, asking if he was okay. That was the oddest question. If someone is bleeding, do you really need to ask if they are okay? He found it quite self-explanitory. He stuck his golden staff's end into the ground next to him, and it glinted in the soft light through the trees. He knew it couldn't be stolen, for it was magical. It would allways come back to him. He looked up, and thought of his brother. How he missed him....

[Anonymous]

Zayna was panting hard, as she ran through the shrubs and bramble, arms flailing, swatting and pushing aside at anything that came in her way. More often than not, the twigs and branches would spring back at her, and she would hiss in pain. But she would not stop running until she was absolutely sure that she had lost the people who were chasing her.

Darn. It would seem that the emerald studded locket she had swiped was worth more than she thought it was. Either than or she was somehow getting too rusty or too cocky. Eitherway, she had been spotted and now a host of guards were chasing her. Most of them she trusted were lost in the forest themselves, and she assumed that once she stopped for breath, she would be saying the same for herself.

That moment never came though, as her foot caught in something stuck in the ground and she stumbled face first into the grassy floor. Oof. A mouthful of leaves and dust was the last thing she needed.

Pushing herself up on her arms and twisting around hastily, her immediate will to get up and resume her sprint was overruled by the curious sight she came across. Though the light was dim and the trees cast criss crossing shadows, she could've sworn those were... wings.

"What in the world....?"

[Anonymous]

Oliver, who was about to take a nap, heard the sound of someone, or something, crashing around nearby. What the..? The sound got closer, and soon enough, someone emerged from the bushes, tripped, and did a faceplant into the dirt. He felt a little sorry for this person. He quickly looked down at her. He almost chuckled. It seemed that not everyone was as used to the forest as he; for she had apparently been sprinting around in the brambles and branches. His eyes studied her curiously. An odd human indeed. He had never seen that hair color before.
   What did she think she was, a wolf? If so, she did a very bad job of imitating one. They didn't randomly burst out of bushes and fall. When she spoke, he remembered he HAD wings. He forgot, as it was easy to do when you have them all the time. He almost sighed at his own stupidity. He said nothing, and just continued looking down at her, studying, as if trying to make sense of her.

[Anonymous]

Zayna just sat there staring at what she could make out of the person... or angel... or thing...As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see he looked rather human... granted, a very beat up human, but humane nevertheless... only, he did have those giant wing things on his back. And he was staring back at her.

She snapped out of her reverie as she felt she heard the rustles around growing nearer.

"Ah damn it!! Cursed lot of scumbags!" she muttered quickly scrambling to her feet and pulling out the necklace from under her shirt. It glinted eerily in the forest light. " Listen, can you... hold onto this for me?" She whispered hurriedly, pushing the object into the persons hand without waiting for a reply, and closing his fingers upon it. " Just, don't say a word about me! If they come, don't say anything, okay?"

'Ah, stupid! stupid! stupid!' She berated herself as she grabbed a nearby branch and disappeared up a tree. She had just pushed herself into a deadend without thinking. This could work or this could go horribly wrong.

[Anonymous]

As she started talking and gave him the necklace, nothing she said really registered in his brain besides that this was a bad situation...and he just got pulled into it. He looked up the tree. She was weird, he'd give her that. He looked at the necklace, then at the tree. He sighed and climbed up the tree with speed that a human shouldn't have. Without thinking about it, he grabbed her arm and said, "We're getting out of here." He then jumped from the tree, flying and carrying her. Then, after getting far enough away, he put her on the ground and landed nearby. He looked over his shoulder at her and threw the necklace back.

[Anonymous]

"Yiiipe...!"

Before she realized what was going on, she was cradled in his arms and higher up in the air than she'd like to know, So she did what she thought best in that situation and squeezed her eyes shut as she clung to him tightly. The journey did not last very long, and all the should feel was the wind ruffling her hair, icy cold on her skin, and then it gently lowered to a breezy flutter as they came to a stop.

Opening one eye, she peeked to see that it was a clearing where the 'Angel' as she had decided to call him all of a sudden, had put her down. It was quieter down here, and as she caught the necklace in both her hands on a reflex, she had thanks to him lost the guards.

Smiling widely at him as he settled close to her she twisted her fingers in the golden beaded string that held the large pendant and let it untangle itself in her hands. Then walking over to him, she proceeded to stand on her tip toes and pull the thing over his head, hanging it round his neck.

Patting his chest and studying it there, she tilted her head to look up at him giving a quick kiss on her cheek, suddenly very comfortable in his presence. He had turned out to be her saviour after all.

"Thanks Darling." she said simply, " I owe you one."

[Anonymous]

Oliver watched her closely. He was used to observing and studying; now it was a habit. He looked at the necklace that was now on him. He stood perfectly still, like a statue, when she put it on. When she kissed him on the cheek, his expression didn't show it at all, but he was surprised, as he had never kissed anyone or been kissed. He thought it was a curious thing humans did. He nodded when she thanked him. He gave her a small chunk of gold, putting it in her hand and closing her fingers around it, much like she did with the necklace.

[Anonymous]

Zayna's eyes widened at what he placed in her hand, and she stated at him bewildered, "Hell now, you must be awfully rich!" Holding the big shiny piece and letting it catch the moonlight, she  let out a low whistle, and then lowered it to study the person who had just handed her something that people squandered more than anything else in the world. Something she had gotten into many a mess for.

"Is this for real? For me?" He wasn't much of a talker, she noticed as she finally studied his face and appearance. For the first time she noticed that everything about him was pale, from his hair, to his skin, and not to mention his cuts and dark circles made him look awful. Her eyes widened suddenly.

"Aww honey, were you already in a bit of a mess yourself?" she queried, "Who did you take this from?"

She was already assuming, he had procured the substance just like she had the necklace. Sometimes she was too naiive for her own good.

[Anonymous]

Oliver didn't say anything when she said he must be rich. In all honestly, he had nothing but his staff, his clothes, and whatever his brother gave him in his pockets. His brother was a theif, and that's how he died...by getting caught. The earlier situation had reminded him all too much of that, and he couldn't really help but assist her. He shrugged at her question, then at the second question, winced slightly. Thinking about his brother hurt him too much. It felt like a stabbing pain to him. He looked away, and couldn't help recall when his brother gave it to him, and how he lectured him about not stealing. His expression changed its usuall neutral and saddened.

[Anonymous]

Misreading his painful grimace as a result of his various bruises, Zayna's eyes softened and she held out her hand to take his. "Aww, you are hurt, are you?" She declared the obvious, talking constantly to make up for his lack of contribution to the verbal communication. "Here, let me look at those."

Pulling him down to the ground in a sitting position, she knelt beside him and retrieved a tiny bottle and some cotton from her pant pockets, "See, I always gets these scrapes and bruises, so i keep this handy," she wiggled the bottle in front of him before twisting the cap open and soaking the swab with the ointment.

" Now brace yerself, this is gonna sting big time!" she peered closely at his face and started dabbing his cuts very gently, talking constantly as she worked, "I'm Sherry by the way. I'm glad you saved my sorry arse. I really am. I like ya already....you...don't like to talk much, huh?"

She paused, "Do you have a name, then?"

[Anonymous]

His pained expression didn't go away until she started treating his wounds. He didn't seem to notice the sting. He looked a small bit amused when she thanked him again for saving her. He probabaly would have cursed himself for not saving her if that was the case. He pointed to his staff when she asked what his name was.
Oliver Quick.
Oliver ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. Today was looking better than before. At least he found someone that would help him. He looked off into the distance.

[Anonymous]

"Now that wasn't so hard was it, " she stated cheerfully, finishing treating his wounds. They would take some time to heal but hopefully the ointment would speed up the process, and relieve the pain.

"Oliver, then." she said, standing up in front of him. "What brings you here?" She was observing his staff now, it looked magical and surreal. And she wanted to touch it, but instead she let her gaze and fingers wander over to his wings. They were as soft to the touch as they looked. She gently brushed the back of her fingers against them, up and down, never having been one to shy away from touching.

"It must be fun, huh? To fly with those things...Have you always had them?"

[Anonymous]

When she was done treating the wounds, he nodded in thanks. He was grateful for the smallest acts of kindness that anyone showed him. This was no exeption. He wished all humans could help each other.
He shrugged when she asked why he was there. He didn't really know himself. He had gotten lost, and was wandering around randomly when she found him...or he found her. As she touched his wings, he once again, stayed perfectly still. He shook his head when she asked if he allways had had them. But, it seemed as if he had allways had them, scince they had been there for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Zayna 'harumphed' lightly, "Now look her mister, you really should converse a lot more.... Its healthy," she added in a know it all manner.

Pocketing the lump of gold for future use, she glanced around to gauge her surroundings. They were still in the middle of nowhere, although her knew friend could probably take care of that faster than she could.
But she was worried he was too weak, his cheeks were hollow and he was entirely too thin.

"Have you eaten?" She asked, "I don't know the way out of these woods, perhaps we should find some fruit bearing trees. We will probably have to wait till morning..." She trailed off lost in thought. She should probably wait till morning to find a village to exchange her stolen goods for something that they both could use, maybe proper food or a change of clothing.

"If you aren't headed anywhere in particular, I suppose we could travel together?" she offered.

[Anonymous]

He looked a bit amused at her comment about his speech, or lack thereof. He just didn't have anyone to talk to most of the time. He shook his head when she asked about him eating. He looked at the sky through the trees. "I haven't eaten..scince...that incident..." He looked over at the bushes, as if wanting to forget about what he said. He looked to his left, and found a plant with fruit on it. He grabbed some and gave some to her.

[Anonymous]

"What incident?" Zayna took the fruit he held out and turned it over in her hands inspecting it. she wasn't sure what it was, but it looked harmless. And edible enough.

She pulled out a small knife from her belt and cut the fruit in half, seeded it, and then held out one piece to Oliver, "You looks like you could use a whole lot of meat on you," She paused and bit into the flesh tentatively, and finding it sweet and juicy upon chewing, took a larger more filling mouthful.

"Comff morming," she talked while still chewing, "we'll find a nearby city, anf geff you anf me a proper meal."

"This is good, though, " She decided as an after thought and went over to get more fruit from the bush.

[Anonymous]

Oliver's expression was that of someone's who has revealed more than they felt like letting the other person know. He looked away, and did not eat the fruit. He found himself useless. He figured if he didn't find a purpose in life by the time he starved, so be it. But, did it matter?
He set the fruit down, and stared off into the distance. He sat down, and looked at his staff.

[Anonymous]

For once Zayna read his perturbed expression, when she returned with more fruit and saw that he hadn't touched his half. She somehow, against her nature, felt concerned.
 "Hey, hey, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but don't do this to yourself," She picked the fruit he cast aside and polished it on her shirt, then used her knife to cut a small morsel out for him,  " You mustn't willingly starve yourself, when your blessed with food. It angers Nature, and she stops favouring you. That's not good, trust me." She squatted down in front of him and held the small piece to his lips, "Come now, open up, lil baby. Its really yummy I tell ya."

[Anonymous]

He looked releived when she dropped the subject about the incident. When she held the food to his lips, he leaned away. He didn't want it. "...i'm fine." He got up and walked a few feet away. He said quietly, "I don't matter..."

[Anonymous]

"Boy, aren't you melancholy?" She mused out loud popping the cut piece into her own mouth. "Suit yourself, then." Sitting down and leaning against a tree, Zayna ate her fill quietly. The fruit was really sweet and saccharine, and probably even more appealing because she didn't remember the last time she ate that day.

All the running around, and lashes of stray foliage was suddenly acting up on her, and she felt tired. It had been a long day. Leaning further against the bark and trying to get comfortable, she looked up at her new found companion, her eyelids already feeling heavy with drowsiness. She wondered if it was the effect of the fruit or everything altogether.

"So you haven't told me, " She said muffling a yawn, " Where'd you get that staff thing?"