Burdens. Guilt that rots you away from the inside, exposing your shame and utter weakness to the outside world, haunting your every step, haunting your every dream. You scream for a release from this burden that you have to carry, and you try to fight through the pain alone, to carry the burden alone. But in the end, you simply find that there is more weight than ever before, and that it is ready to swallow you whole. Even then you are hesitant to trust someone, to let them grab yoiur pack. What if they open it, and see the pain and the shame that lies within? Of course they will see it, because if they are to help you carry it, then you must take it out of yourself and show it to them, hand it to them. That is the moment. When you will be crushed in endless pain and shame, or where you will find release.

He would never find release.

That was his thought, that was the dark reality that had became his truth. Yet one had seen just a peek of the scars, and she had reacted quite well. It had been a delightful suprise, and something that he would no doubt treasure for the rest of his life. Yet it had also increased his hate for the Celestial race. You may ask why, and the answer is quite clear. This girl, this precious friend... she was a Teifling. And the Celestial's had told Ethstar that that specific race was quite evil. If Amy was what the Celestial race considered evil... then Ethstar was all for the evil people in this world. These dark thoughts continued to swirl in his head as he stared into the waters of the lake, the memories having come since this was the first place he had met her. He could remember the night quite clearly, as if it had only been yesterday. He had told her he had been afriad to take his shirt off. Even now, when he was alone, his cheeks brightened with a red hue at the thought. He must have looked like a idiot then. He wondered if that had been the thought running through her mind.

He looked as he always did, a black cloak hiding his sitting body, a beautifal face framed with black bangs being the only thing that wasn't covered. Bright blue eyes watched the surface of the dark water with a distant look in his eyes. The look was soon replaced with one of focus however, for he was able to snap himself out of his thoughts to focus upon the moon. His eyes lowly scanned upwards to find the spectacle of nature. It was a beautiful sight, and the star's only aided the natural beauty of this place. He could also remember when he had asked Amy about the stars, and she had responded. He still wondered about the jewels of the sky, wondered about what mysteries they held. Probably quite a few.

(Private)

The midnight moon glowed on Amys light complexion. She was different. Memories were lost, but only a few fragment haunted her everyday. The stars were shining bright tonight, and she looked up. It was quiet, and she didnt know what to do. Looking back down, clearing trees from her sight, she had spotted a man. Stoping instantly, her eyes wider and intense, she stared at the man. That was one of the men who haunted her memories. Gasping in disbelieve, she picked her pace up, almost running towards him.

"You." She stopped at a fair distance, a safe one. "I believe I know you." She felt foolish to say this, she knew nothing about him but his appearance. Her sea green eyes stared at him in his eyes, trying to somehow find out more. Please, she begged, Please.

"You may not recognize me, but does the name Amy remind you of someone?" She didnt know if she should ask him this question, but she was done worrying now. It didnt matter what the reaction was, life would go on. Awaiting, she still stared at him in the eyes, eager for the answer. Perhaps, she would be able to unlock some more of her memories before, or just meet someone new that was important. Either way, it worked out for her.

His eyes widened as he heard the familiar voice, and his head swiveled round in a blur of motion, his eyes searching for the owner of that soft voice. His body was already moving on it's own, standing swiftly and spinning around as well, moving to face the girl that was addressing him. He simply stared at her as she stated her question, his eyes filled with warmth and happiness. His friend was back! She was here! And with those two thoughts flooding his brain, they were soon sent spinning away as she spoke the words of questioning. She WAS Amy. But she did not know who he was. Blinking in silent surprise, the warmth in his eyes faded to a look of worry and slight distress. He took a step forward, the wind slapping at the folds of his cloak, sending it flying around his slim form.

He could see the questioning in her eyes, and it was perhaps then when he came to solid terms with the reality that she had no idea who he was, but that something was making her question if she actually DID know him. Another rapid-fire blink was emitted, and he made his decision. If this next action did not remind her of who he was, then nothing else would. His arms would slowly stick out, each straightening and holding out horizontally, the muscles in the joints flexing. With a look of concentration passing across his face, his would let his full beauty flare out. The wind would mysteriously pick up, the fingers of mother nature throwing his cloak behind him like a set of wings. Yet the REAL wings were what would burst out.

With a look of pain suddenly crossing his face, each wing would explode out of his back, and flex to full majesty. They were beautiful objects, and Amy was the only person on this plane who had ever seen them. With a look of pure determination set within the steel of his eyes, he spoke in a hard voice, throwing mental commands at her to REMEMBER, to KNOW who he was. He took another step forward, bringing himself all that much closer to her. "I am Ethstar Solther. And you are Amy Thestial." The pain slowly faded from his face, the physical agony of letting the wings simply show soon passing over him, vanishing into nothingness. His shoulder blades still ached, but that was normal. "I am your friend."

Amy stared blankly at him, as usual as she would to anyone. Watching him, and exposing his wings, her eyes twinkled. This shade of color, shes never seen before. And she admired them. "Wings. So... then you can fly." Scratching her back, she kept her eye on him. Listening to him speak, and after hearing him say, 'We are friends.' She suddenly felt like she was choking, and began to sweat, feeling a sharp pain on her back. "Ugh!" Falling to her knees. her hand weak and trembling, her head facing the ground.

The pain got worse on her back. And it started to bleed. Breathing heavly she was afraid of what was going to happen. Was it him? Was it something from the madman? If you looked closely, you would be able to see two gray feathers appear, but it looked red do to the massive pile of blood. And then, slowly, wings started to appear. Dripping in blood. She couldnt take the pain anymore.

Dropping completely, she lay on the grass. As the forest animals and trees became silent, the wind picking up pace silently. She had wings too, the experiment had changed her - completely. The skin had already healed at amazing speed. So her bleeding had stopped, but stains of blood still remained. Gasping for air still, her wings moved, but it hurt, he bones were not used to this.

Taking her strenght she spoke. "Ethstar. Help." Her eyes were falling, but she tried her hardest not to disappear from reality.She didnt know what could happen, death - or even just pherhaps some rest - or ill. She didnt know, but she kept awake.

His face remained rock cold as he displayed his wings to her, and was gifted with a completely blank look in return. He had readily expected this to happen, for if she did not remember him, he knew that if he was prepared, it would hurt his heart like all of the hells assulting him. Only a slight blink would go toward her blank look, and the comment she threw at him. No, he could not fly, and he probably would never be able to accomplish this feat. He had been cursed long ago by the bastards in the Celestial plane, and to this day that curse still lingered on his body. He had nearly gotten himself killed already, nearly bled to death because of the ill effects the curse could bring around on him. Almost subconsiously, he gritted his teeth together, grinding the pearly whites against each other with force. Suddenly, he heard her cry of pain.

As the girl toppled to her knees, he stood there for a moment, not exactly sure what was happening to her. It was in this cold shock that a horrified feeling slowly started to grow, and soon, he was active and dashing toward her at lightning fast speeds. He was already starting to hold his hands out, to support her body if it fell anymore, to try and catch it. She looked to be in so much pain, and the blood was horrifying. He was to her side in an instant, but not before she had fell to the ground out of all the agony.

She had wings now. His eyes widened at the color, noting they were not normal wings, not by any means. He went down on both knees, and without a word, his hands dashed to her back to try and heal what he could. Then, before his blinking and suprised eyes, the wound simply healed itself. He could feel his mouth drop open at this spectacle, perhaps the most surprise he had shown in forever. Bt yet again, horrifying thoughts snapped him out of his stupor. As he heard her words, he went into action.

"Hold on, Amy." His hands gently laid themselves on her back, and closing his eyes, he began to shoot all the healing power he could possibly muster into her back. His hands soon started to glow a bright blue, and within a few seconds, she would feel the effects of the minor healing magic flowing through her limbs.

Just as she was about to let go, she heard Ethstars voice, and kept awake. Her back felt a little better by his healing spell, but she was still in pain from her wings. Slowly, she tried to move her wings, but she flinched because it was something so unusual. She reached up, and grabbed Ethstars shirt, trying to get up, tembling. Closing her eyes, her face pressed against his chest, she sat up as best as she could.

"Thank you.", Her soft voice reaching to him. She was wondering how he could do this, if it hurt this much. But she wasnt sure if it was painful for him since he was born with them, or at least she believe he was born with them. Opening her eyes, and looking in to his, her vision was blurry from the pain, shades of black and white were mixed. Tears slowly came down her face.

Her mind wondered again, and she thought it would have been so tough for him if he was in pain, and if he was younger. But that was life, even though everyone, or almost everyone, hated. Pain was such an evil word. Another reply to give all her thanks, she said again in her soft voice. "Thank you."

She sat there, with her head against his chest to stop her from falling down again.

He let loose a sigh of relief as she sagged agaisnt him, his right hand going up to hold her head, the other hand slumping to the ground. He closed his eyes, the fear of the earlier belief that she might have very well died on him still fresh within the reaches of his horrified mind. He did not answer her thanks at first, his breath coming out dark and heavy, his mind still not readily accepting everything that had managed to go on in this very short span of time. He gently rubbed the back of her head, his gentle nature shining through once more.

He finally answered her, his voice a little shaky, but still holding a note of calm somewhere within the reaches. "Don't worry. It is okay. Everything is okay." He simply sat there for a few more moments, rubbing the back of her head gently as if he was calming a small child that had bruised it's knee. Within a few more seconds of this though, his eyes had opened, and were cautiously studying the wings that had ripped out of her body. His blue orbs traveled up and down the length of the bloodstained gray feathers, memorizing each and every detail of the beautiful objects.

They couldn't be Angel wings, he had never heard of or seen a single Angel who had wings that specific color. He was pretty sure he would have noticed earlier that she was an Angel anyway, anc even though she was pretty, she wasn't quite as beautiful as the Celestial beings he was so used to seeing. So the mystery of the wings still remained fresh within his thoughts, but he tried not to focus on it too much. She was still in pain it seemed. His other hand, the one on the ground, went up to her back and started to steadily pulse his magic into her.

Meanwhile, he spoke, his voice still a little shaky. "Are you going to be alright?" So many other questions were also haunting the depths of his mind, but he had managed not to let them loose quite yet. It was not the appropiate time or place for it, they would just have to wait for a time later on in the future.

Her tears were no more, and she heard his voice, and was reasurred everything was okay. The soft touch from his hand on her head, made her relax a little more, but was a little shaky, her back aching with pain still. Sitting there with him, the silence grew, and she felt comfortable with someone else there, to make sure they were both okay.

She could tell by his shaky voice, he was afraid - she was too. "Yes. I believe so." And then, after that, the silence grew even more, thoughts filling up her mind. How would she get through this? How did Ethstar feel about this? How would others? Will she have to conceal herself from reality? Question haunted her mind again. But, one thing was over, she had finally met the man haunting her memories - Ethstar Solther. And she felt safe now.

Its almost ironic, how she healed do quick. But... weird things happen when you just been around a madman and used for an experiment. But that was the past, so she had other things to worry about. She had to clean up, and cover herself, but she believe she was fine for now, it was dark and it was in the forest.

She was thinking of asking, 'What do you propose to do now', but she felt just fine where she was, and she needed a lot of rest from this. But at the same time, she didnt want to hold him back, or just even go. So, she decided to just stay how they were for a while, maybe make a fire and camp out for the night. She didnt know - it was dangerous anywhere.

Sea green eyes wandered up to his eyes, and Amy looked at him. She wish she could see life - in other words - colors. She would be able to see the beauty, but she was almost thankful for being colorblind. She was able to search for the real beauty in people - whats inside of them.

Silence grew, the trees whispered in the night from the breeze, and the stars grew brighter than ever. She sighed slightly, her lips parting.

Ethstar absentmindedly sat there for a few moments, his hand still gently stroking at the back of her head. His eyes were focused on the stars above, memories flowing through him like a surge of lightning. He could picture it as if it had just happened moments ago, as if he had replaced the scary memory of Amy in pain with one of the memories they had made.

Groping around, his right hand found Amy's, soft brushing it for a second to warn her of his idea. Then, in a few more moments, strong fingers wrapped around hers in a gentle grasp. He was guessing she wouldn't be able to see if he pointed, so he would have to guide her. He hoped she knew what he meant when he asked his question, and that the books he had studied weren't outdated. Guiding her hand gently, ready to let go if she struggled, he lifted it and aimed both their hands at the brightest star. "See that?"

A slight smile crossed his face as the memory went fresh in his mind, and his eyes went down to meet Amy's with a sparkle in them. He offered her one of his smiles to hopefully cheer her up a little, his arms slowly releasing her and he taking a step back as he let go of her and let her have her own personal space back. He looked at her with a unsure look in his eyes, not completely knowing what to do now. He slowly and hesistantly unclasped the object that held his cloak to his body, and offered her the thick black cloth, something he had done the first time he had met. Instead of waiting to see if she would take it, he simply took a step foward and draped it around her, making sure to be extra gentle with the strange wings. His eyes lingered on them for a few moments, and then he went ahead and asked the somewhat prying question that had been stalking him for a good while now.

"I don't mean to be rude, Amy... but I am wondering, how in the world do you have wings? Or have you had them for a while and you just now revealed them...?" He looked at her with a confused look in his eyes, the previous sparkle dying down to be replaced by this emotion. His hands paused in draping the cloak around her for the moment, his attentions completely focused on what she was soon to say, or at least what he was hoping she would explain to him.

((Eh, this is crappy, I am sorry.))

Amy cheeks turned a rasberry red when he grabbed her hand, and then led it to the sky. Yes, she could see the brightest star. Softly, she spoke. "Yes." Her eyes closed, and her lips rose up, smiling. As he draped the cloak around her, her face had returned to normal, and her head turned slightly to the back, and then back. Her hands came up to her shoulder, gently grasping the cloak.

When he spoke of her wings, she looked back at him, with an unsure look on her face. "This... was caused by... a crazy experiment. As crazy as it may sound. I was kidnapped by a madman..."" Great, she thought. Now he would think she was crazy

Her sea green eyes stared at his eyes, and she moved her legs, along with her body, to face him. She gently grasped his hands. "This may be too much to ask you.. but please..." She turned her head the other way, her voice getting softer, "Will you promise to stay by my side?" Her eyes looked back at his eyes, she was scared of what the answer may be.

Gently leading his hand in hers, she led it to her cheek, and put his warm hand against it, closing her eyes. "I feel safe with you." Opening her eyes, her eyes sparkled.

This was unusual. He had been haunting her memories. They had met. He had protected her. She felt different when she was around him.

[[Nahh.]]

He blinked at her statement, the odd thing she had spoke off something he had not ever really heard of. Perhaps one of Ethstar's strengths, or flaws, was his ability to approach everything on the Material plane with quite the open and ready mind. When he had first come here, he had no expectations, and even then the things that he had seen had managed to blow his mind to miniscule proportions. He had slowly come to terms with it though, and now he was completely ready for anything and everything to happen to him on this plane of Chaos. Sighing slightly, he shook his head, his eyes flashing for a moment in anger. This man had KIDNAPPED her?

He had opened his mouth to speak when she took both of his hands in hers, effectively cutting off whatever words he had been ready to speak. His eyes silently gazed into hers as her own eyes darted this way and that, green eyes trying to hide or match Ethstar's own orbs of very light blue. The look in his face radiated complete and utter innocence, complete and childlike belief in the words that she was speaking. He seemed to trust her completely, accepting each and every one of her words at face value, not doubting her, not thinking she was insane, just considering her the same person he had always known her to be. As she finished her sentence and looked up at him with a look of fear in her eyes, a gorgeous smile crossed his face to try and once again reassure her fears.

He let her lead his hand to her cheek, although unsure of what that was really used for. He regarded it with a puzzled look for a moment, then when she spoke of feeling safe around him, his eyes seemed to dawn in a light of slight understanding. If just being close to him gave her a sense of security, being able to feel him would increase that security. She looked quite peaceful and happy with his hand cradling her cheek anyway. He finally opened his mouth, the full lips slowly parting to let words flow forth.

"Of course I will stay with you." The smile on his face grew, a slight teasing tone to it. "I have to watch you anyway, so far, you are the only one who knows of these two wings." He slightly used his hand to lead her eyes toward his, softly adjusting her cheek. "I promise I will watch you. What are friends for?" He then went silent and simply let her respond as she felt needed, the smile still on his face, a gentle light still in his eyes.