Absense (RionXLilia...CainXOC)

[Forsaken]

Chapter 1;

When Rion had finished the job, destroy Dorothy, he had felt as if his body was vanishing from the world. It wasn't like death, or at least, he assumed it wasn't. His life went so where, his soul still linguered in a place that he would kill to understand. For a couple minutes, he could still hear Dorothy's cries echoing through his ears, a loud piercing sound that for some reason, felt so good.

Then, there came the several minutes where he could hear cries, Lilia's cries. Not of happiness, not of joy, not of relief... But of sadness. It made him sick, it made him wanna rip his ears off. He only wanted to make it stop, it wasn't just how he didn't like the sound in particular, but the fact that Lilia was suffering. He hated it, he hated knowing she was hurting and he wasn't there for her. He hated knowing that and he hated himself for it.

Lilia's cries had died down and now, it was just him and the darkness. All he saw was darkness and all he could feel was the darkness. He felt nothing under him, nothing above him, nothing around him. His body didn't move, didn't make a sound, didn't feel. It reminded him of floating, but he didn't feel the air around him that would push him along, no. He felt like he wasn't anywhere. He couldn't even hear the silence, just the tiniest of noise, the sound of his heart, of his being, no. It was empty.

He had just lied in that darkness, in that emptiness, for what felt like hours, and yet, felt like minutes, too. Short, yet long. Forever was passing him by, and he couldn't explain why it had come to his thoughts like that. He couldn't explain anything right now. Soon enough, even his thoughts faided away. His mind sunk, he felt himself forgetting every reason. Who he was, he forgot why he was here. His parents, what were their names again...? His entire self... forgotton. But what he could feel, even if it came as a word through his thoughts, he knew it was so much more. Lilia.

That name, although he just couldn't remember who this Lilia person was, he could remember some of the features of her. She almost perfectly matched her name. He would never say she was as beautiful as a flower, for one; he couldn't remember what a flower looked like, but he knew that it would be an understatement. She was beauty beyond beauty, in his eyes. It was in her voice, her smile. Who she was, was beauty. It made him wonder his true feelings for her.

Lilia was his childhood friend, right? But, he had always felt somewhat different. He had those urges that weren't easy to desribe. Funny feelings that he would get when he thought about her. Funny feelings that he got in his body when she would touch him. He'd shiver at the thought of her hands touching him. He always thought that he disliked it, yet, that was a lie.

As time went on, floating in this darkness, slowly loosing all his feeling. He cursed the day that he would forget Lilia. He didn't want to forget her! He wouldn't! But, his fears came to life when the moment came that he had forgotton her face. He lost it, that beautiful face, it was blank to him now. In the end, all he could remember was her name. But by then, he forget who that name belonged to.

His fears, they were realized, but he couldn't remember to fear them. Was it death that was slowly eating him? Or was he simply just losing himself in this darkness. He needed Lilia. he needed her life, her light. He couldn't wait, he needed it NOW! But it was his end. His death. Was it? He couldn't remember.

---------

"Ms. Lilia, please-"

"Don't start, Clife, I can't wait! Not anymore!" Lilia shouted back to Clife, who was hurrying to catch up to her. She was running through the halls of the hospital, in full sprint. Clife was struggling to keep up with her, and was trying to push his hair out of his face.

"Ms. Lilia, please-" he shouted out again.

"NO!" Lilia shouted back, but kept her concentration on the door she was running for, she could see it now, and it made her eager. "I have to see Rion!" She shouted, even louder. She didn't care if she got in trouble, she had to see him, she just HAD too.

"Ms. Lilia-"

Lilia flew right through the door, he opened with a loud bang as she ran right in, then came to a skidding stop, nearly hitting some equipment and a table in the process. The room was dark, the only spot that shone anylight was a lone lamp hanging from the ceiling above a bed. Lilia ran up to the bed.

"Ms. Lilia-" Clife went silent when he stepped a foot in the room. He looked over at Lilia, she was being still, staring almost unbelieveingly at Rion. He laid unconscious in the bed, his lower body covered by a white blanket, his exposed chest lifted and lowered with each breathe he took. A tube, coming from a machine on the other side of the room, ran to his lips and covered most of his jaw, making beathing easier for him. Lilia fell to her knees next to him on the bed.

"Rion..." She said lightly and moved closer to him. "Rion..." She whispered. She laid her head next to his, silently crying. "Rion... you're alive... you're alive..." She cried, quickly. She stood up and wiped the tears away, then took a moment to look at him. His hair had grown slightly, his bangs covering his eyes more than they already did, and the hair on the back of his head now touched the lower part of his neck, right where it met his back. Lilia smiled, it was still that beautiful blonde color that she adored. She also smiled to noticing that they hadn't touched his silver hoop ring. It still sparkeled on his left ear.

She looked over at the table on the other side of the room, across from the end of his bed, where his feet lied. She walked over to the table and examined its contents. The table had his old clothes on it, they looked dirty, dusty, and still had blood stains on them. She saw his black collar, the one that he adored for some strange reason. Deep down, she always loved it on him.

She took the collar off the table and walked back to Rion. She dusted the collar off, and stuffed it her jacket's pocket. Then, looked back down at her long love-I mean, friend. She smiled again, seeing his face. She couldn't explain, just couldn't explain how happy she was. Waiting several months, just to see him again, it pained her. Even now, it did, but she felt better to know that he was ok.

"Ms. Lilia," Clife said, leaning in the doorway. Lilia looked over at him. "He'll be released tommarrow at exactly 2 PM. They say he'll wake up early tommarrow. You're his only family, Ms. Lilia. He'll need someone to pick him up," Clife let a smile pass his face.

Lilia smiled back at him. "Thank you, Clife,"

"We should get going, before we get in trouble,"

Lilia nodded and turned back to Rion. She leaned over, pushing his hair away from his eyes, and carefully planted a delicate kiss on his forehead. "I'll come back, Rion-"

-----------

Suddenly, Rion felt something. Was it a motion for a feeling? Something gentle, warm, and light pressing against his forehead. Then, the calm, beautiful, voice that filled his ears in a whisper. "-Rion," He heard the voice say. His mind began to race. It was different to him, this feeling, this voice, yet it felt so familar.

LILIA! His mind shouted in extacy. Thoughts of Lilia began to pour into him, flooding his mind with memories of her. After Lilia, he began to remember his parents, pictures of them ran through him. He could see it all, Lilia, his parents, Dorothy, and the Galerians.

All the feelings that had dissapeared from his being. They were back! He could almost taste it. Just the thought of her, feeling her again, it made his mind rattle. He could see it again! Everything that he had lost had come back to him.

"Lilia..." His eyes peeled open. "Lilia..." He whispered out again. His eyes were met by a blinding white light. "Lilia..." His whispers came out almost in pants. "Lilia..."

"He woken!" A voice shouted.

"Hurry, get it off!" Another shouted.

Rion's ears were filled with the sounds of rustling objects, people's voices, and an annoying echoing sound of wheels against tile. He attempted to open his eyes again, but the white light was still shining down on him, but in that split second, he could see faces. "Lilia..." he whispered again.

"Get that light off him!" A voice shouted.

He opened his eyes again, the white light had died down. But now, he was met by people's faces, or at least, people's eyes. The most of the people's faces were covered by white and blue, over their mouth, head, and body. "Lilia... where are you...?" He whispered again, his eyes searching the people for a familar pair of eyes, but he found none.

The people scrambled again, moving away from him. He could hear them moving things around the room and different things rustling. Using the little strength he had, he lifted himself into a sitting position and scanned the room, they were eight of them.

"Where's..." He said loud enough for them to hear him, his voice was struggling. The doctors looked over him and stopped what they were doing, making the room go silent. "Where's... Lilia," he said, the struggle very noticable in his voice.

A doctor rushed over to him and gently pushed him back down onto his back. "You'll see her soon," The doctor said with a light voice. "I promise-" She said right before Rion drifted back into unconsciousness. He didn't want too, but he sure was tired.

--------

"-And what are you here for..... Ms. Pascalle?" The lady working at the desk said. She was a petite woman with her hair tied in a bun and was wearing a pair of cheap classes. The waiting room was almost empty, other than the young couple that were waiting patiently in the corner.

"To pick up," Lilia replied.

The woman pulled out a notebook and began flipping through it. "For..."

"Rion... Rion Stiener," Lilia replied.

The woman continued flipping through her notebook. Lilia silently sighed. Ever since the incodent with Dorothy, it had been very hard for the survivors. The hospitals were too busy spending money on equipment that having computers and better file systems was something that had to wait, and overall, Lilia fully respected that. The hospital had gone over changed in the time that it was left empty, the lights were getting old, some of them glowed yellow or flickered. Some of the tiles had died down and began to crack. Even some of the doors had began to wear down, some had gotten stuck and other ones fell right off the henges.

"He'll be released..." The woman glanced at the clock on her wrist. "-In about 10 minutes. I'll call someone to inform them," She said. Lilia gave her a thankful smile.

"That won't be nessesary," Lilia turned to see Clife walking up to her through the hallway. "The doctor said he's condition to go home. He's awake too," Lilia's eyes began to tear up. "He's healed very nicely, Ms. Lilia," Clife said with a smile. "Come on," He lightly took Lilia's arm and led her through the hallway.

She immediently blinked her tears away and adjusted her bag that was falling off her shoulder. Her and Clife walked silently 'till they reached Rion's room. Standing outside it was Dr. Jeriko.

"You must be Ms. Pascalle," Dr. Jeriko smiled at her and gave her a nod. "Rion has healed nicely and can leave with you. Ms. Pascalle... I have to say, though," He paused for a moment and scratched his beard. he glanced back at the door behind him before looking back at Lilia. "I'm not sure, if it's offical yet. But Rion..... lost his powers," Lilia's eyes widened. "It's to be expected of, since he had to use it too its full extent. I'm not sure yet. But, it might just be," Lilia looked down at the ground.

"Thank you, Dr.," Lilia said lightly.

"Now," Dr. Jeriko started. Lilia looked back up at him. "Would you like to see, Rion?" He asked, opening the door and stepping out of her way. Lilia nearly ran through the door into the room. Dr. Jeriko closed it behind her, to give them some alone time. She looked over at the bed, seeing it was empty. A frown crossed her features, before she heard a voice.

"Damn, their too small," She looked over at the table that held Rion's clothes. Rion stood in front of it, holding up a pair of dark plaid boxers. Lilia's eyes passed over Rion's exposed butt, before she decided to speak.

"I brought some for you,"

Rion spung around and covered himself with the boxers he held, a light blush crossed his face. "Who-" he silenced himself, seeing none-other than Lilia standing on the other of the room. She too had a light blush on her face. Rion's surprised face faided into an almost happy one, yet it was hard to read. "Lilia," He stated plainly with slight surprise in his voice.

The two walked towards each other. Lilia's blush seemed to grow, but Rion couldn't care less about his nakedness. Lilia kept her eyes on his. His blue eyes hadn't changed a bit, they were still that beautiful blue that she loved. "Lilia!" Rion shouted as if he had let out a breathe that needed release. He dropped the boxers and threw his arms around her, placing one hand on the back of her head, while his other arm wrapped around her waiste. He pulled her in close.

"Lilia... I... I'm so sorry I left you like that. I shouldn't of done that! I...! I'm so sorry, Lilia-"

Lilia laughed lightly and wrapped her arms around him. "Rion, it's ok. I never was once mad at you. You did what you had to do. Rion, I never stopped thinking about you. I... I'm so happy!" She broke out into a quick sob, but it left as soon as it arrived. She wasn't going to be sad, she was happy, and those tears weren't going to fall anymore.

Rion pulled back slightly to look at her face. "Lilia..." He whispered.

"Rion..." Lilia whispered, nervously. She closed her eyes and stuck her bag out. "There are some clothes in here," Rion glanced down, remembering he was naked. Lilia giggled when she heard him make a silent shrieking noise, then take the bag from her.

Aftering hearing some rustling, Rion told her she could open her eyes. Once she did, she saw him dressed in the jacket and cargo pants that she had picked. He gave her a questioning look. "I'm sorry. It was the best I could do for the moment-"

"No, it's not that," He pointed at his neck, at his collar.

Lilia smiled. "I was afraid that the doctors would trash it or something,"

Rion gave her a light smile. "Thank you,"

"Rion... can I ask...? Why do you want to wear it so badly-It's not that I don't it! But..."

"I don't wanna forget," He said plainly. "I don't wanna forget everything that's happened.... and don't I look great?"

Lilia broke into a laugh. It had been a long time since Rion had made a joke. She remembered that back in the day, when they were kids, he was always making a joke to make her laugh. "Rion..." She whispered, once she had calmed down. "You haven't told a joke in... forever,"

"I know... It just... came to me,"

Suddenly, Lilia took his hand, grabbing his attention. "Come on, let's go home," [/center]

[Forsaken]

Chapter 2;


It was on the ride back to what Lilia called Rion's new home. They were in a bus that was more than half empty. It was old and rusty, but ran pretty well. Rion had taken this time to let it all sink in. Lilia leaned her head against his shoulder, half asleep, while he admired her.

She had cut her hair short, it was now a little below her jaw. She was dressed in a jacket and cargo pants, just like what she had gotten for him. He understood why, it was winter time, the cold in Michealangelo City was nothing to take lightly, and a bus like this, with no heating, it was just as cold as it was outside. Rion, feeling a shiver come from Lilia, pulled her in closer to him.

For a second she opened her eyes. "Thank you," She said, then closed her eyes again. He assumed she was half asleep, which made him wonder why she was so tired. She hadn't told him much of what had happened after he killed Dorothy. All he knew was that she had a small appartment on the far ends of town, it was all she could afford. Even though Rion wasn't all about apartments, he was happy to be back with Lilia, and as long as Lilia was with him, destination wasn't important.

He looked at the window and slightly glared at it, the cold caused it to fog up, making it hard to look outside it. But it didn't wanna wake Lilia, so he didn't move. He just leaned into her more, keeping his arm wrapped around her. His breathe was visible as it left his lips.

He was beginning to question why he was still alive. How, exactly, did he manage to survive that...? He rubbed Lilia's arm a couple times, then started to think again. Did Lilia save him? It had to of been just that. Lilia was never a quiter, even on him. He smiled lightly and leaned his cheek against Lilia's head. It was offical to him now, he adored everything about her.

The bus began to come to a screeching, yet slow and gentle, stop. The bus driver slammed the doors open and called out, "Miniapollas Lane!" Rion gently shook Lilia and whispered to her.

"We're here," He whispered, remembering what lane Lilia told him to look out for. Lilia stirred slightly, but finally opened her eyes and slowly stood with him. He gave a glance to the bus driver, who had his eye on him.

"I can walk, Rion," Lilia said lightly. Rion released her arm and followed behind her. Lilia handed the bus driver the money she owned for the ride and gave a light thank you. The two then got off the bus and onto the cold streets. "This way, Rion," Lilia said and turned down a pathway. Soon, they were at a jumble of apartments. There was a second and first story. Lilia walked up the stairs to the second story, Rion walking right behind her.

"Lilia..." Rion said lightly, concerned for her. She turned to him with a questioning look. "Are you ok? You seem exhausted,"

Lilia waved her hand a little. "It's fine, Rion," She said, then turned back and finished up the stairs. Lilia stopped in front of the door that had the number 231 painted on the front. The paint was yellow and looked like it was chipping off. Lilia pulled a key out of her pocket and hurried to the open the door.

Once the two were in, she closed the door behind her in a hurry. Rion was surprised that the room was actually kind of warm. Lilia pulled off her jacket to reveal a black and grey stripped tank top that crossed together in the back, it revealed a little cleavage. She hung the jacket over the side of the couch that was in the middle of the room.

"A couch...?"

"The original owners left it here, along with some other furniture," Lilia said, walking into the kitchen. "Are you hunger, Rion?"

"You have no idea,"

Lilia laughed lightly. "Alright then. Well, make yourself at home,"

Rion walked over to the couch and sat down. The only furniture in the living room was the couch and a side table. The kitchen was only seperated from the living room by a half wall, while the rest connected. The kitchen was small, with a fridge, two counters, and cabinets above and in them. A small sink was on the other side of the fridge, in its own counter.

Lilia made a couple sandwhiches, simple, yet to Rion's stomach, they were great. The two sat on the couch, eating together, silently. 'Till Rion broke the silence. "Lilia... Can you tell me. How did I... survive?" He asked, setting his plate down on the cushion between them. Lilia swallowed down the food she had been chewing and placed her plate down as well.

"Right after you defeated Dorothy-"

((Flashback))

Lilia craddled Rion in her arms, warmly, closely, delicatly. She had cleaned up his face, removing all the blood that leaked from a wound on the side of his head. She didn't care how much the blood stained her shirt. She gently cuddled Rion's head between her neck and breasts, on her chest. Holding him there, holding him near her. the tears she had cried were gone and weren't coming anymore, they stopped falling and now were dried apong her cheeks.

It got silent, now, all she could hear was the night. Rion's power had blown up the roof and most of the wall, now revealing the sky. That abyss that you would call a sky, it once was bright and blue. But now, even when the sun was shining, the sky was ugly, covering the blue with a sickly yellow. She hated it. She hated everything right now.

"Rion-" Lilia silenced her whisper when a very quiet, yet audible, sound came from behind her. She turned her head to see what it was, only to see Cain standing there. He was holding his side with his right hand, blood pouring from his body, the cut connected to his forehead that led past his temple and right behind his ear made blood come down to only incourage the glare.... Only one problem, he wasn't glaring.

"...Cain...?"

He limped over to Lilia. Lilia surprisingly felt no fear, no threat, not because of his injuries, but just some look in his eyes, one she couldn't explain. "Lilia... Rion can be saved..." He said, making Lilia's eyes widen. "You're on the farther end of the city. There's a hospital, not far from here..."

"Why... why are you telling me this?"

"At first... I hated Rion and blamed him for the reason mother hated me so much... But now... she's gone... and all I can truly thank... is Rion. He... he saved me... from myself... from mother... Now hurry to the hospital!"

"But what about you!?"

"Don't worry, Lilia. Worry about Rion..."

((End Flashback))

"...Cain...?"

"Yes," Lilia nodded her head. "I checked you into the hospital immediently. When I went back to look for Cain... he was gone. But I have a strange feeling that he's not dead,"

"Me too, Lilia,"

The day continued on very lightly and almost boring, but Rion never found himself going bored. Rion and Lilia sat on the couch for a while and talked, just talked. She told him about her new life in the city. It made him feel bad that he had burned his house down, or they could of been living there, but he let it slide past his thoughts. Lilia told him of new job, she was working an all week shift as a restaurant. She was a waiter at a well-known place called "Chabela", who was the name of the owner that had started it. It was known for it's nice food and good service, so Lilia had alot to be expected of. She was amazed when she got the job.

Then, came the news about the apartment. It turned out that she had gotten this apartment with pure luck. Since everywhere else was either destoryed or full, finding this place open was extremely fortunent. Plus, there was how the previous owners of 231 had moved outside of a town in a hurry. So, they just left the furniture, which was a couch, side table, twin bed, desk, and dresser. Plus, all the things in the kitchen, they had even left the sink, silverware, and plates and bowls. She got all this and the rent price didn't even go up!

After that, the two discussed what Rion would be doing. He learned that there were two rooms, but only one bed. He offered to sleep on the couch, but Lilia told him that she wasn't going to let him freeze to death. That was when he learned that the heaters would always go off at night, thanks to the owners of the apartments. It kinda made sense to him, running it constantly would kill the electricity, and in moments like these, that wasn't something to let go to waste.

Rion walked into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He had noticed how he had changed in the past 7 months that he had spent in the hospital. His hair had grown longer, which he realized that he liked it this length. He had seemed to grow taller, and even Lilia had made a comment on that. Right now, he knew for sure that he needed a shower.

He turned the nobs on the bath and waited for the water to get hot. Once adjusted to the temperature he liked, Rion pulled on the switch nob and hurridily pulled the shower curtain back. He stripped down, even taking his collar off, and hopped into the shower. For a moment, he just stood there and enjoyed the hot water running down his back. He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time. "Lilia..." He thought, pressing his forehead against the tile, in the spot right below the shower head. "How can I ever repay you for all you've done for me...?"

He suddenly heard a knock at the door and then the door nob turn. He looked over at the door. The shower curtain was see through on his side. Lilia walked out with a bag in her hands, she placed it on the counter next to the sink. "There are a couple more pairs of clothes in here. We can run to the store tommarrow, if you'd like?"

"Thank you, Lilia," Rion replied.

Lilia turned back and left the bathroom. Rion leaned his forehead against the tile again. "Tommarrow," He thought. "Tommarrow, I'll get a job and help Lilia,"

He spent more time just enjoying the water. It felt like ages since he had a relaxing, warm, shower. Well, actually, it had been a long time. He ran his fingers through his hair, letting the water soak it. It was really nice to finaly wash it, he knew it would feel much better once it was cleaned.

After he finished washing himself, Rion turned the water heads, making the water stop. He grabbed the towel that was hanging on the rack and pulled to his face, drying it. Then, he ran it roughly over his hair before draping it over waiste and tieing it. He walked over to the counter, quickly placing his collar back on his neck and then, he looked inside the bag. He reached his hand in and pulled out the first thing he touched. It was a short sleeve, black shirt, plain and simple, yet soft. He did a quick fold and laid it down, then reached back into the bag and this time, pulled out a pair of jeans, one size too large.

He smiled. "Oh, Lilia," He thought and laid the jeans down over his shirt. He reached in the bag again, this time pulling out a pair of black boxers, his size. He almost laughed, but then began to wonder. "How could she of known what my size was? Unless the hospital told her..." He set the boxers down and dropped the towel. He hurried to get dressed, then set his previous clothes and the towel in the laundry basket that stood next to the toilet, but set his jacket in the bag. He then took the bag by the straps and walked out of the bathroom.

The minute he left the bathroom, he became reconized by the coldness of the room. "Lilia? Why is it so cold?" He called out. Lilia walked out of another room, that he assumed was the bedroom.

"Sorry, Rion. They turned the heat off a couple minutes after you got in the shower,"

"I see,"

"The bedroom's here. So, if you wanna get comfortable, go ahead. I'm gonna go get the mail," Lilia walked out the front door, for a brief second, terroizing cold stormed into the room, but she was quick to shut the door. Rion stared at the door for a moment, another wave of guilt crashed down on him.

"Lilia..." He thought. "I did it again... I made you wait. You spent months in this place, all alone," He lowered his eyes to the floor and shook his head. "I don't deserve her..." He whispered to himself and then turned to the room. "But I won't let her down again... Even if it kills me," He walked into the bedroom. It was small, yet cozy with a bed, dresser, and desk. He walked over to the desk, seeing some papers that said "Miniapollas Hotel", right below it, written in bigger and redder letters was "Bill". He looked lower seeing it list off all the different charges; rent, electricity, plumbing, and water.

Rion turned to the dresser, it had only two droors, Lilia had attached a paper with her name on it on the top droor and the one under it had a paper on it that had Rion's name written on it. He smiled lightly and bent down to pull the droor open. It was empty, so he began placing his clothes in it. "That's Lilia, always thinking," He closed the droor and stood back up, then placed the bag on the top of the dresser. The dresser wasn't very tall and it didn't have anything on it.

Suddenly, he heard the front door open and footsteps towards him. He looked at the doorway, seeing Lilia walk in the room. She tossed a couple open envolopes and papers on the desk and then headed towards to the left side of the bed. She sat down and put her hand over he forehead. Understanding, Rion walked on his hands and knees across the bed to her side. "Lilia... I'm gonna get a job and help you pay the bills," He said. Lilia looked over at him. "I promise,"

Lilia wrapped her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. He was surprised for a moment, but soon, wrapped his arms around her and laid his head on hers. "Thank you," She said and pulled him closer. There was a moment of silence, where the two just sat there, embraced. If you were to see the two, you wouldn't think that they were friends. The connection was too close, too perfect, to be friends. "You'll never know how much I missed you..." Lilia suddenly said, tightening her embrace. Rion closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Lilia," He started. "I'll never leave you again," He placed his hand on the back of her head. "Never," he whispered, pressing his cheek against hers. Her body was warm against his, which surprised him since she was just outside a moment ago. But he had remembered that she was always warm.

Before the two of them knew it, they were laying down on the bed, half asleep, snuggled up against each other. Rion had thrown the blanket over the two of them and kept holding Lilia, she too kept her arms wrapped tightly and warmly around him. Whether it was done purposly or not didn't matter to them, they just lied there and soaked up in the moment, 'till they finaly fell into sleep.

--------

Cain cursed loudly, not caring if anyone heard, not like there are anyone around to hear it. It was late noon and he had been stuck in the cold all freakin' day. The leather he was wearing was pathetic, sure it was warm, but it only warmed the parts of him that it covered. Leaving his arms, legs, and neck to get frost bite. He cursed out again and rubbed his arms. He fuckin' hated this stupid human world! Or at least this weather.

He was in a park, sitting on a bench. Every so often, a person would walk by, bundled up so much that Cain felt that they were purpously teasing him. Most of them gave him a look, whether it was his face or he clothes, he didn't care, it fuckin' pissed him off! He'd give a glare and even said something to a couple of 'em. After he did, they'd either look away or walk faster. Then, would leave him alone on the bench to feel proud of himself.

"Fuck-"

"You should go home before you get frost bite," A voice said. Cain stood still for a moment. The voice was light, warm, and gentle, he knew it was a female. He turned his upper body to look behind him and snap at the person, but found himself going silent when his eyes were met by a pair of empty orbs. The girl in front of him looked to be his age, bundled up in warm clothes, making it hard to point out her body's shape. She had long black hair that went all the way down her back, it was almost perfectly straight. Her skin looked light and pale.

Cain's jaw dropped. It was the first time in his pathetic and depressing life, that he had seen a creature this beautiful. Sure, he saw human girls walking by that weren't half bad looking, but never once had he seen one like her. She giggled lightly at his surprised face, making him snap out of his trance. He turned himself around, to not face her, and crossed his arms in a rather cute way, even though he didn't plan it. The girl walked around and sat next to him on the bench.

"You'll freeze to death if you don't go home..." She stated plainly.

"What do you care!?" Cain shot at her. But she didn't flinch.

"Alot more than you know..."

Cain looked surprised. "Why?"

"I'm just a caring person," She answered as if this fact had no ring to it. Cain looked at the ground. "You don't have to listen to me. But I was just saying.... is all..." The girl sat up and unzipped her jacket. Cain gave her a strange look, but his face was covered when she threw the jacket on him. "You need this alot more than I do," She said.

Before Cain could make a statement back, the girl had already taken off. Her back dissapeared from the park and into the city. He looked at the jacket in his arms and did something daring. He brought the jacket up his nose and took a deep breathe. As true as he thought, his nostrals were filled with a strong feminine scent. Sure, he liked it, but he didn't want to smell like it. He glared out into the city, as if to no one but the air. "I'm supposed to wear this...?"

[Forsaken]

Chapter 2;



When Cain began to drift back in conscious and become aware of his suroundings, he found himself warmer then when he fell asleep. Although he was curious, he wasn't complaining. He looked over at himself. The jacket he was given still layed under him, and now, another jacket was over him. He also noticed that someone was sitting on the other side of the bench. He pulled himself up in a hurry, catching the person's attention. It was the girl from yesterday. She was wearing a long sleeved, black shirt, and skin tight, black jeans. She had her arms crossed, to warm herself.

"You're awake," She said plainly with a small smile across her pale lips.

Cain growled. "What are you doing giving me these!?" He tossed her jackets at her and leaned back on the bench, crossing his arms. The girl pushed her jackets down on the bench in the space between them and looked at his face. His angered expression suddenly changed. "I mean..." He looked at her. "You'll freeze, too," The girl smiled lightly and took one of her jackets. She swung it over his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it..." She said and sat back, to give him space. "Why did you sleep out here?" She asked.

He looked away. "It's none of your concern,"

"I understand... But if you're going to sleep outside, you should try one of the alleys," She stood up. "They're much warmer than this bench," She said tossing her second jacket at him and then walked off. Like before, Cain turned to simply see her dissapear into the city again. He looked at the jacket in his arms.

"She has a habbit of dissapearing..." Cain lounged in the bench, for a moment not paying attention to what he held in his arms. Until reality pinched him. "...damn,"

----------

When Rion woke up, he found he was alone in the bed with the blanket over him. It was warmer this morning, so he assumed that Lilia had turned on the heat. But for some reason, he found himself feeling lonely. It was a little new to him. He had never worried about being alone before. Of course, he had missed Lilia in the time he was asleep. But this was a different feeling. He missed her pressense, her life, her warmth, and it was really starting to scare him.

His eyes fluttered open to be met by darkness. He rolled over onto his other side, where he would be facing the door. It was closed, but light was shinning through the tiny space under it. Creating a line of light at the bottom. "Lilia must be awake..." He thought. He had the urge to get up and see her, but for reasons he could not explain, his body didn't coraperate. As if it was disobeying his comands. "What the hell....?" He murmured.

He gathered up his stength and pushed himself onto his elboes, creating a very loud grunt, that sounded painful. Right after he made that noise, he began to hate himself, as to now, he could hear foot steps coming towards the door. He knew that he had worried Lilia and he wasn't going to put a burden on her.

Lilia came into the room in a flash and nearly sprinted to the bed. She took Rion's shoulders and pushed him down onto his back. "Don't move around too much, Rion-"

"Lilia, stop-"His attempts to push himself back up again and to go against her 'orders' were failed when Rion felt another pain jolt through him, causing him to collaspe backwards onto the bed and make another loud grunt. Lilia laid a pillow under his head.

"Don't move, Rion. The doctor had called me last night and warned me about today. He said that you would be feeling very sore for a couple hours. Just rest, ok?"

Rion frowned. He didn't wanna rest, he wanted to get out and find himself a job, so that he could start helping Lilia. Resting was not an option. "Lilia, please, don't make me lie here all day," He began to push himself up, but Lilia immediently pushed him back down.

"No," She scolded. "Even if I have to treat you like a child, Rion. I will not let you leave this bed," Lilia sat herself next to him on the edge of the bed and crossed her arms. Rion felt like fighting back, but kept quiet. Argueing with Lilia was a waste of time and not only that, but he didn't like fighting with her, to the fact that he just didn't like it and that she would most likely win.

"The heat's back on, Rion. So, you don't have to stay all bundled up, if you don't want too," Lilia said, breaking through Rions thoughts. She sat up from the bed. "I'll be right back," She said with a smile, before leaving the room. Rion watched her retreat out of the room before looking up at the ceiling. He sighed and was beginning to become irritated by all the clothes he was wearing. Trying not to lift himself up too much, he stripped himself down to boxers, really not caring if Lilia saw. He set his clothes on the floor and leaned back, putting his arms behind his head, sticking his elboes out. He kept his eyes focused on the ceiling, as if it was the most interesting thing he ever saw. Even though it wasn't.

Lilia came in a few minutes later, a tray in her hands. She set it down on the other side of the bed, leaning over Rion while she did so. He watched her carefully as he laid, almost useless, on the bed. Lilia smiled down at him. "Take is easy, ok?" She asked with a very gentle tone in her voice, it surprised Rion. Yes, he had always known how caring Lilia was, but her ability to turn this command into a warm question was amazing too him. "Do you..." Lilia hesitated for a moment. "Want me to help you...?"

Rion let a small, playful, smile cross his lips for a second. "Let me keep my dignity, ok?"

Lilia began to laugh lightly, Rion joined in quickly, with warm chuckles, before a very disgusting feeling crepted up his gut and before he knew it, a salty taste swarmed over his tongue. It brought back a very unpleasant memory. He turned over and coughed violently, catching Lilia's attention. She dived to her knees and got close to his face. He had coughed into the bed sheets, his head hanging low making his hair cover his face and some of the sheets around his head.

That salty taste continued to spew around his taste and out of his lips, he couldn't hold it back. It didn't take him long to remember that gushy liquid. Blood. It made him sick, tasting this and knowing that he was making a mess in front of Lilia, on her bed!

"Rion!" Lilia shouted surprised. He lifted his head up as the coughing began to calm down. For a moment, Lilia's features settled to a sign of relief, but immediently changed to horror, when she got a glimpse of the dark red blood that formed a messy puddle that sunk into the sheets. But her cares weren't focused on the sheets, but on Rion. He had a couple drips on the edge of his chin and a line running out of his lips and down his jaw 'till it hit his chin, but stayed seperate from the droplits.

Before Rion could blink, Lilia was out of the room and back with a damp cloth and was pressing it against Rion's jaw and chin. She wiped up the blood that was on him, then gently turned him onto his back. She flipped the cloth around, to the clean side and folded it, to hide the messy side. She gently rubbed it against Rion's forehead. The cold cloth send a satisfying shiver down Rion's body. Lilia was very aware of this, as she saw the shiver run down Rion's exposed chest.

"L-Lilia...."

"It must of been the drugs that the doctors gave you. He said that it had a chance of doing this...." Lilia stood back up and covered her face with her hands, making an almost unaudible wimpering noise. Rion caught this and shot his right hand up to take her wrist.

"L-Lilia, please don't-it's not your fault,"

In an almost instant, Lilia took Rion's hand with both of her hands and got back down on her knees. She held up his hand, both of hers still holding it and gently squeezing it. There were no more words to be exchanged, there was no more to say. Lilia sat there with Rion, she moved her self next to him. To help him ignore the pain, she held his hand with one hand and stroked his hair with the other. Every so often, she'd hear a silenced moan from him, as if he didn't one her to know his pain. But everytime he did, she'd just lean in and kiss his forehead.

"I wish you knew...." She thought, brushing some strands of his hair away from his eyes.

------------

Cain walked through the city streets that day, the jacket placed on his back and his hands inside the pockets. A deep frown was plastered on his face while he silently murmured to himself. At one point, he himself, had no idea what he was saying and it turned into simple bickering. About some stupid girl leaving her stupid jacket and this stupid weather and the stupid leather clothes he wore with a stupid this and a stupid that.

But what pissed him off the most, even more than the weather, were the people, or at least, the ones that looked at him. Half of the people that walked by him kept to themselves, but every so often, some nosy person or disrespectful kid would walk by him and stare at him 'till they walked past him or 'till he gave them the look. Usually, it was the look that scared them away. Kids would either keep staring or wimper and look away. It didn't satisy him to scare kids, but he wasn't gonna take the looks.

Cain knew why people looked at him funny. For starters, he was dressed in a very strange leather alfit that would classify as skimpy, in some ways. Which lead him to think about why he got it, making him remember Dorothy and the galerians. It was a path that he wish he never took, but it wasn't like it was his descision in the first place. As for the clothes, it was either this or a dorky looking vest with tan trousers, and he WAS NOT wearing that!

His second guess, to the wierd looks, was on his appearences. Although Cain could be mistaken for Rion, he had facial features that made them different. Their noses were slightly different, his eyes were green instead of blue, his forehead was just a little bit wider, he was slightly shorter, and of course, Cain had dark, black, lines under his eyes. Rion did too, but Cain, living longer than Rion, had more noticable ones. The drugs seemed to have given a much more effective affect on Cain. It made him a little jealous.

But his jealously towards Rion, that involved 'mother', had faided as soon as she died. When she died, Cain became much more connected to the world. He didn't feel so manipulated. He knew that the feelings towards Rion and Lilia were because he wished to serve mother. But when she died, all hate towards the two dissapeared. But one thing that he still envied for Rion, was the feelings Lilia had towards him.

Cain had never truly cared about Lilia, or at least, not in a very serious mannor. But he envied the way she cried for Rion and how much she loved him. To be needed and wanted by someone was a feeling that Cain was completely unaware of, and he hated it. Dorothy never needed him. Birdman was a self centered being. Rainheart was an idiot. Rita... he always knew she had a soft spot for Rainheart. But never once did she ever see much in Cain. Which even though Cain was a determined person who wished for someone to see that, he never seem to care for their attention. From the minute he was born, serving mother was the only thing that felt right.

A cold wind suddenly blew, making Cain stop in his tracks and jump out of his thoughts. He gripped his jacket until the wind died down a little. But even when it did, wind was still blowing cold air onto him. He cursed aloud, not caring if anyone heard and continued walking. Cain didn't really know where he was going, but he knew what he was looking for, and that was a warm place to sleep. It may of been early in the day, but he had no time to waste.

But right now, he felt like time just didn't even matter.

----------

Rion's eyes peeled open. At first, giving him a blurry view, but it cleared, letting him see his suroundings. The uncomfortable feeling in his stomach had vanished, but his weak and tired muscles seemed worse. They stung a little, even when he didn't move. But it wasn't a painful sting, it was more of a tired sting that made him more and more sleepy as it continued on.

But a warm breathe on his neck and chest made him stay awake for a moment. He looked over at the area between his head and shoulders where the pillow under his head laid. Lilia had placed her head so perfectly there, her breathe reached his neck and chest. It was warm, steady, and relaxing to him. It didn't take him long to realize that the room was now freezing.

He frowned when he noticed that Lilia hadn't pulled the blanket ontop of her. So, he gently pulled it from under he feet and tossed it over her. Rion looked down at her sleeping form. Her eyes closed so gently and her lips slightly parted. They were pink, as usual. Rion blushed lightly at the sight of her slightly flushed faced, she always was adorable when she slept.

But he immiently frowned and looked back up at the ceiling. His eyes were met by the light that hung above the bed. He slowly lifted himself up and pulled on the string, to turn it off. He mentally thanked Lilia for making the strong long enough. Then, he turned his head over and leaned his cheek against Lilia's head.

"If only you knew...."

----------

Cain was only seconds away from falling into a deep sleep when his body suddenly felt 10 times warmer. His eyes shot open and flew to the source. A body was laying next to him, their skin barely touching, and another jacket thrown over him. His eyes scanned over the other figure, seeing a familar face. He felt like smiling, for the very first time in his life.

"You have an act of finding me..." He said plainly and pulled the jacket off his chest and onto his lap.

"This time, it was a coinicidence," She replied.

"How many of these do you have?" Cain asked, referring to the jacket.

"A couple," She answered and leaned back. The two of them were lying in an alley, one that Cain found about an hour ago. He leaned against a cushin that was thrown back here, it was pressed up against the wall. When he found the alley, it was one of the few that was empty. Another one that was belonged to a restaurant, but it was noisy and continuously, someone came out to dump trash in the dumpster. This one was dark and a beat having the wind come down on him.

"Don't you have a home to go too?" Cain suddenly asked.

"No, I don't," She plainly replied and closed her eyes. Cain assumed she was trying to get some sleep. It surprised him that she would trust him enough to sleep next to him. Cain turned himself away from her and attempted to get some sleep.

"What's your name...?" She suddenly asked, catching his attention. Cain didn't move, though.

"...Cain," He replied and closed his eyes again.

"Nira..."

After that, no more words were exchanged. Cain and Nira gave in all their attention to falling asleep. Nira didn't take too long, but Cain was having a bit trouble, when he suddenly felt Nira's body fall next to his. He shivered, not use to physical contact with anybody and was about to push her away.

But looking down at her sleeping form and feeling the warmth that she was giving him, he staid still and sooner then he thought, found himself falling asleep, too.