© Jojo B 2018

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Flaws and Feathers

Chapter 5

Cassiel and I walked side by side down the streets. Things seemed to be picking up, now that it was getting later within the day. More people were milling about, doing their weekly shops, and so forth. Cassiel didn't say a word to me for the first five minutes or so, and eventually I broke the silence.

"No sign of Nathaniel or Michael?" I looked up at him questionably.

"It is Micah," he corrected me with a brief glance in my direction. "And no, I have not seen them."

"Oh, right," I bit my lip apologetically. "Micah. Any chance that they might be together? I mean, how did you guys get spilt up in the first place?"

Cassiel's brows furrowed, not liking the sound of my question.

"I do not remember," he replied, sounding oh-so-familiar to Raphael.

I was starting to think the whole amnesia thing was an excuse, rather than the truth. Nevertheless, I didn't push him, because I knew better than anyone that being pressed for an answer was beyond frustrating.

"Let's go this way," I murmured to him as I took a left at the end of the street, heading for the town square.

"I have looked here before," Cassiel stopped in his tracks, shaking his head. "It is useless. They are not there."

"When did you look there?" I arched a brow. "And I doubt you covered the whole town centre. Besides, people move around. They might not have been there when you looked, but they could be there now."

Cassiel was sighing loudly, running a hand through his dark blond hair as if he'd had a enough of listening to me. Which was probably the case.

"Listen, Cassiel," I walked back over to him. "I know this place. I grew up here. You're clearly new to the scene, so just...follow me."

"Fine," he snapped. "I will follow you."

I narrowed my eyes at him a little, sensing sarcasm.

"Do I have to remind you, that I'm actually helping you here?" I said in a clipped tone.

"No Vienna, you do not," Cassiel went ahead and walked right past me, rather than 'following' me.

I had to take a moment to get over the feeling that I got, from him saying my name in his low, smooth voice. It kind of mad my stomach tighten up, as if I was nervous, but I knew I wasn't. I think I liked it.

"So how long has it been since you got here?" I asked him casually, after catching up with his longer strides.

"Why so many questions?" Cassiel's blue eyes met mine.

"I'm making friends!" I insisted, trying not to crack a smile.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes, "I do not think so."

"Oh?" I raised my brows at him. "Is that so?"

"Will you just stop talking?" he muttered.

"Answer my question, then I will," I replied without hesitation.

Cassiel let out a sigh, before he sent me a dark look.

"Two weeks," he answered.

I was not expecting such a long amount of time, and blinked at him in surprise.

"What have you been doing for the last two weeks?" I had to ask.

Cassiel held up a hand dismissively, "You said no more questions."

"Oh, come on," I pushed his arm away. "It's practically the same question."

"No, it is is not," he sent me a dry look, putting his hand back in his pocket.

Unlike Raphael, Cassiel didn't seem to have a problem with me touching him. It wasn't as if he was pulling away from me at any given chance. It only made me wonder about what Raphael had such difficulty trying to explain.

"Wait," I frowned suddenly in realisation. "So Raphael had been out in the woods for a whole two weeks before we found him? How did he survive that with no food or water?"

Cassiel held a straight face, shrugging a shoulder lightly, "Why are you asking me?"

I sighed heavily, shaking my head at him. It was clear from his lack of shock that he already knew, he just didn't want to tell me.

We spent the next hour walking through every street in the town centre that I could think of. I made sure to visit all the nooks and crannies, where people without homes usually sat, but there was no sign of Nathaniel or Micah.

Cassiel had gotten more and more demoralised, not finding his friends, though he wouldn't admit it to me. I could tell by his depressed shoulders, that he wasn't in a good mood, though he wasn't exactly in high spirits to begin with. I was still quite surprised he was able to walk so much after being hit by a car, even if it wasn't at such a high speed. Still, he didn't even have a limp or anything.

"My guess is that they might have found someone to stay with," I said as we walked back to the meet place with Raphael and Gwen. "Like how we found Raphael, and let him in."

Looking up at him, Cassiel didn't seem convinced, but he didn't argue. He just probably wanted me to stop talking. I sighed softly and lowered my gaze, feeling dejection seeping in. It was how I felt at college, that no matter how I was, people and I just didn't click. Even when I actually tried.

"I am listening," Cassiel murmured as he looked at me, expecting me to continue.

I blinked in surprise, then sent him a small half smile.

"No, that was it," I replied, looking away again. "I was just thinking out loud."

"Mm," he hummed. "I do not think Nathaniel or Micah would accept a strangers help. They are somewhere, just maybe not in this town. Could be in the next town."

What he was saying didn't really make sense to me, but I sensed the urgency in his voice. Just like Raphael, Cassiel wanted to find them as soon as possible.

***

The four of us were back in the cabin. Gwen and I had done some shopping for the boys in town and were now cooking up a dinner. Well, Gwen was doing the hard work, I was more like her assistant.

We were preparing chilli con carne, a spicy mince stew served with rice. According to Gwen, it was relatively easy to make in large quantities, so that had been our main drive. Not to mention, I loved spicy food, so I had kind of suggested it to Gwen like a hundred times.

Raphael was in the shower, and Cassiel was at the kitchen counter with us. He wasn't actually cooking, but he had come to stand nearby, so I took it as he was offering a hand.

Gwen was standing in front of the stove, stirring the pot of chopped tomatoes and minced beef. So far, no spice had been added. I was cutting the chilli peppers, making sure to use disposable gloves because I wasn't trying to blind myself. I touched my face without even thinking, so I wasn't taking chances.

"Cassiel, can you hand us the paprika and cumin?" I asked him, pointing to the spice cupboard right in front of him. "They are just in there."

The blond haired male opened the cupboard and gazed at the various spices, trying to locate the paprika and cumin. He seemed to take a while though, and I had managed to finish cutting up the chillies. Gwen had just hurried to the bathroom as soon as Raphael was out, leaving me alone with the pot of bubbling stew on the stove.

I was determined not to let it burn (my speciality), because I was really looking forwards to the meal. However, I could already feel the bottom burning as I stirred it rigourously. I turned the heat down a bit and added the chillies with one hand, whilst trying to continue stirring with the other. It wasn't easy, and all the billowing steam was making me hot and flustered.

"Cassiel, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!" I snapped at him angrily, using the back of my forearm to wipe my warm forehead.

He turned to glare back at me, his eyes glimmering again for a moment, "Do not pressure me!"

"Is it that hard to grab two spices?" I sent him an incredulous look. "They are probably right at the front!"

He let out a huff of frustration as his hands shot out to grab as many of the spices that he could, before shoving them at me forcefully. I had to let go of the pot and the wooden spoon, reaching out to take them quickly. I obviously couldn't hold them all, and ended up dropping some of the spices onto the floor.

The cap of the black pepper flew off, sending the powder all over the kitchen floor. The ground garlic landed on my foot, and I winced in pain, taking a step back instinctively and almost burning myself on the stove.

Immediately, a heat at the back of my neck flared up, and I had to put the spices I was holding down, before dropping any others. It wasn't a painful heat, just unexpected, though it was starting to occur quite frequently.

Cassiel stiffened instantly, his face creasing into one of pain. He stumbled back, away from me, leaning heavily against the counter as if he was to fall. I frowned and took a step towards him, not sure what was happening. It couldn't possibly be me who was hurting him, because I wasn't consciously doing anything.

As quickly as it struck him, the pain seemed to go away, and Cassiel took a few deep breaths, straightening up once more. He had his hands placed on the counter, his head bowed, and his shoulders rising and falling as he caught his breath back.

"Sorry," he muttered, not even looking at me.

"It's fine," I was looked at him with a frown of confusion.

After a moment, I remembered the chilli on the stove and quickly grabbed the spoon to stir the stew.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath, knowing that the bottom was definitely burnt.

I turned the stove off, letting out an angry breath. My foot was throbbing a little, and there was a mess all over the floor. Gwen came back to see it, and sent me a look.

"I was gone for two minutes," she said quietly, before she went to grab a dustpan and brush to sweep the mess.

Raphael had gotten dressed, wearing more of Joe's oversized clothes, and he entered the scene to see the black pepper spread all over the stone kitchen tiles.

"Let me," he didn't hesitate to bend down and gently take the dustpan and brush from Gwen, sweeping the mess for her.

I raised my brows and so did my sister, who stood up to send me a surprised look. Cassiel didn't seem so shocked, and he remained at a bit of a distance, a frown still on his face.

"Vienna," Gwen sighed heavily when she noticed the dish was slightly burnt.

"It really wasn't...intentional," I said to her, holding back from telling her it wasn't my fault.

Whatever had made Cassiel freak out, was clearly something I didn't need to talk about. Gwen brushed me away from the stove, not even listening to me, as she tried to salvage the dish. I automatically moved a bit closer to Cassiel, and sent him a softer look.

"What happened?" I asked him. "Why did you do that?"

He turned to meet my gaze, his expression still stern, "I...couldn't read it."

That was the last thing I had been expecting, and I looked at him blankly for a second. At first I thought he was saying he never learnt how to read or write, but after a thought, I figured he could have been saying he was dyslexic and had a bit of trouble reading and writing.

"You mean, you have dyslexia?" I creased my brows in concern.

Cassiel looked away from me, dropping his gaze to the kitchen counter again. He nodded his head. I too nodded, though he wasn't looking at me. I supposed I could understand that.

"Don't worry about it," I murmured, turning back to the stove to see how Gwen was doing.

Despite the faint burnt taste in the dish, Raphael had no problem finishing his plate and a second one too. I ate mine with a bit of a sour face, knowing that it could have been so much better. Cassiel must have thought it was worse than I did, because he didn't have any, even though Gwen and I insisted he try it. He just kept saying he wasn't hungry.

"Do you have any of those doughnuts, Gwen?" Raphael was rocking back on his chair as he sent her a hopeful smile. "The ones with the custard inside?"

My sister smiled as she pushed some of her curly hair behind her ear, gathering our clean plates.

"I did buy some today, actually," she replied as she stood up. "In the fridge."

Raphael practically leapt up off his chair and bounded to the fridge, playfully slapping Cassiel's blond head as he passed him by. Cassiel rolled his eyes at him and rubbed his hair, sitting back in his seat.

"Aren't you going to offer any to the rest of us?" I arched a brow challenging Raphael when he tore open the paper bag.

He shook his head, his cheeks stuffed with the sugary stuff.

"Wow," I leaned back in my seat. "Not even going to offer any to the people who bought them?"

That made Raphael share a small smile, and he turned, of course, to Gwen.

"Doughnut?" he held the bag out to her.

Gwen's hands were wet from the washing up and she smiled and shook her head.

"No thanks," she declined.

I coughed pointedly when Raphael went back to just eating them.

"Oh, right," he met my gaze from across the table with his grey eyes.

"Thank you," I said with a little tightness in my tone, taking a doughnut from the bag.

Raphael didn't even offer Cassiel any at all, and Cassiel didn't object. He seemed to be daydreaming, his blue eyes fixed on the table top.  As far as I knew, Cassiel hadn't eaten the whole day. I wasn't sure if not eating was a frequent habit of his, but from his physical appearance he seemed like a well built, healthy male. Couldn't have been weirder. 

***

Hours later, as I lay in bed. I recalled the events of the day. The weekend had been highly eventful, and I knew there was more to come. I just didn't want college to get in the way of that.

Cassiel and Raphael were staying in the cabin still. Last I saw of them, they were watching TV. Well, Raphael had been too restless to sit and watch, so he had ended up standing behind the sofa, shifting his weight onto each foot as he watched the news with Cassiel. So far, there hadn't been any news of any of their remaining friends.

Thankfully the night held no sleepwalking incidences with Joe, and after what felt like an age, I finally started to fall asleep. At one point, I opened my eyes, feeling as if someone was in my room. I sensed a presence, and my first thought was that it was my brother. There was, however, no sound of anyone breathing other than me, and Joe was usually a heavy breather when he was sleepwalking.

Sitting up hesitantly, I saw no unusual shapes in the gloom. I didn't bother switching on the light, because it would hurt my eyes too much. I lay back down again, confused, but not particularly concerned.

That's when the shaking started.

My bed was vibrating, almost. A frown fell on my face, as I lay there, my heart starting to pick up its pace. Then I realised that I was the one trembling. I quickly tried to sit up, but as soon as I did so, I felt my head spinning. I was dizzy, my heart beating in a frenzy, and my vision kept sliding all over the place.

My body kept shaking, as if I was shivering, but it wasn't out of fear. More like my body was in some sort of shock. Unable to comprehend what was going on. I couldn't think straight. I hadn't felt anything like this before, except the tingling warmth at the back of my neck. Slowly the sensation faded, as did the trembling. I didn't try to open my eyes, feeling that they were too heavy to lift. I felt some sort of light from behind my closed eyelids, but I could have sworn I had left the lamp off.

My tattoo must have been affecting me somehow, and I had never heard about such side affects. It made me anxious, and I eventually fell asleep considering if I should see a doctor about it.

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How do you think the story is going so far?

And did you have a favourite part of the chapter?

J

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