Midnight wings (Paradise sequel)

Sequel to Paradise. Raena fights the Smoke and with herself. Hope you like it!

Midnight Wings

 

The trip was far too long for Raena’s comfort. Soaring through the air was relaxing, yes, but incredibly slow on a windless day such as this. Plus, the high afternoon sun beat harshly down on her midnight hair and wings. Toshio, on the other hand, had it easy. She glanced enviously at her partner. He glided without any noticeable effort, short silver hair rippling like silk. His snowy wings reflected the light.

The sky was clear, free of clouds and disturbances. She crossed her arms, shifting uneasily. Unconnected thoughts floated through her restless mind. Toshio just watched her changing expressions with a soft smile on his light features. Today was the eighth anniversary of her becoming a Sister of the Society. Her chaotic mess of thoughts thinned, connected together and flowed into threads of memory.

 

She was barely older than seven winters when her parents became victims of Smoke. That night was the only defined memory she had from her previous life.

It was a dark and chilling night near the end of winter. Raena had already requested a Sister to come to heal. Trying her best to keep her parents comfortable, she was acutely aware of the ticking of the clock. She remembered vividly the panic that rose in her body when the sickness took a turn for the worst. Her father died first painfully. The open room echoed his last agonized screams. Her mother held out for a little longer, holding Raena’s terrified hands. Incoherent words slipped her mind. Then, Raena heard the footsteps of the Sister entering the room. But as she turned to greet the Sister, her mother’s freezing hand in hers began to shake violently. The moment the door flew open, the hand had one last convulsion and went limp. The silence that followed was deafening.

Raena couldn’t believe it. She was alive just a moment ago…She couldn’t hear the deep gasps of the Sister that had hurried there. The only thing that went through her mind was “They were both gone. Lifeless. Dead…” The last word rang through the empty numbness of her mind. She vaguely felt the warm hand of the Sister on her shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” the Sister said softly. “I wish I could’ve been sooner…”

“It’s all your fault,” Raena said. Standing up and throwing her hand off, she rounded on her. “It’s your fault that Ma and Pa died!” she screamed the words as if she was throwing stones blindly at the Sister. Angry tears slipped down her face, obscuring her vision. “If you had been sooner, they wouldn’t have died such a painful death! It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!”

The entire time, the Sister just stood there with a deeply wounded look on her face. Raena didn’t care. She had just lost everything. Everything dear to her. Just because this Sister was late…Her body collapsed onto the ground, shaking with cries of pain and sorrow. They were gone…what else did she have in this world?

When her screams calmed to silent tears and deep breaths, the Sister, who stood there the whole time, reached out her hand. “You are strong, child,” she murmured. “Come with me, join the Society. We fight against the Smoke and search for a cure for it. With your help, we can create Paradise where humans like you can live in peace and harmony with my kind, the half-humans.”

It was the first time Raena noticed the sharp stripes on the Sister’s cheeks. She was half-tiger. “Will you lend us your strength and make a perfect society where no one has to die as painfully as your parents?”

Raena gazed up into the older woman’s face. She had nothing to lose. Maybe she could even start over again. Nodding slightly, she reached a hand and held the woman’s much larger hand. She felt a wave of warmth passed through their entwined hands. When the Sister beamed at her, she couldn’t help the small smile from touching her lips. It was a new beginning.

On the first night of spring, raining heavily as she remembered, she was “born” as Raena into the Society, shedding her previous self and forgetting her name. She went through the transformation that merged her with a raven. She lost her only pride, her shining golden hair in the change. They became stained with a midnight black that glowed slightly in the dim light. Her sapphire eyes became like onyx, deep and endless black. Worst of all, she lost her human memories, which was very unusual. Her head would hurt when she tried to remember. But, as if to make up for those losses, she gained wings, something she had dreamed about.

A few weeks after her transformation, she entered the training to heighten the healing skills she gained. It was designed to take seven years to complete. She finished it in only four years, making her the youngest Division member since the creation of Society. Her partner was Toshio who is two years older. When they first met, she was eleven and he was thirteen. Together, they made the Raven-Dove Division. At first, he had a grudge against her because he had finished the training in five and a half years, but she robbed him of his two-year glory.

But, as they were joined by a single purpose, they became one and his grudge was lost. The number of completed assignments soared and the Division was nicknamed Black and White to show the duality of the two. Sometimes, she teased him about it, but they were closer than brother and sister because they only had each other.

Together they worked to create Paradise. A decade ago, the human race had been wiped out. Or so the half-humans that survived unscathed thought. The half-humans, led by Rain and her mate Stormfoot, discovered a group of greatly weakened humans that numbered just over five hundred. Getting right to work, Rain and her pack quickly found a medicine that would slow the effects of Smoke. Then they established the Society to train more half-humans to temporarily heal the affected humans.

Since the Smoke hadn’t been destroyed, the growing number of humans still were being affected by the lingering effects. Divisions such as the Black and White worked to slow the passing. One touch through bare skin raised the chances of it affecting. Since the main sign of Smoke was abnormally cold hands, it was also called the Frozen Pain.

“Everyone is so cold,” Raena complained once to Toshio on the way back from an assignment. “Everyone else is afraid touch us. So, there are only cold hands…”

He nodded in agreement. Suddenly he stopped. His body went rigid as he stared ahead. She watched him curiously. “Rain…” was all he said. He bowed and kept his grey downcast.

Immediately understanding and following Toshio’s lead, she hurriedly bowed to the leader of the Society. There was small flash and a group of Brothers and Sisters appeared. Rain was different than she expected. Raena always imagined her to be a tall and glowering old wolf though she knew that her kind never aged.

Instead, Rain was barely taller than she. She had pointed black ears and tail, long blue-black hair rippling to her waist. Her silver claws and fangs glinted slightly in the hallway light. A gentle smile touched her lips. Standing proudly, she radiated power, youth, and beauty.

But when she caught sight of Raena, the smile quickly disappeared. Looking straight ahead and making no sign that she noticed her, Rain walked straight past her, slowing to stop beside her. Then she turned her proud head to the side and, in a soft voice that still rang with power, said, “You think this is a chore, raven?”

Raena, surprised, turned to meet her eyes. They were an intense gold and bore deeply into her mind. With ears slightly flattened, Rain slowly broke the connection and strode away. Her boots clicked echoes down the empty hallway. Raena couldn’t move for a moment. Her words were branded into her memory. She spun around just in time to see Rain round a corner. What did she mean?

Toshio was watching her confusion with some understanding. He never talked much, but they always knew what the other was thinking. He reached out and held her hand, smiling. She felt a rush of warmth towards him, almost washing away what Rain had just said. Almost.

There came a day when Raena ran late. Things had gone wrong with the previous assignment and she hurried to the next assignment. As soon as she threw open that door, she knew it was too late. There was nothing that could be done, nothing she could do. And, worst of all, she knew exactly how those people felt. Her body involuntarily stiffened, preparing for the words that she knew were coming. Echoes of the very words she had screamed to the Sister many years ago rang in her mind.

But when the elderly couple turned towards her, their faces were gentle though stained with droplets of pain. "Thank you," they said bowing their heads. "Thank you for coming out of your way for our granddaughter's sake." Shame like she never felt before entirely consuming her. Her body suddenly went weak and she was swallowed by darkness.

What kind of person am I, she thought, later in her room alone. Here I am, blaming that Sister for all this time for what happened, for not saving my parents. I should've been grateful to her....I am such a horrible person…

Ever since, she tried her best to save as many lives as she could. To make a difference, even if it meant just one more life. Sometimes she was unable to save the people, but it only pushed her to try harder with the next patient. Seeing those smiling and healed faces brought her more joy than anything else in that life…

 

Something warm enveloped her hand. Her black eyes met Toshio’s grey ones. He nodded, eyes falling to indicate the place. She affirmed his sign and, retracting their wings, plummeted from the sky. The sensation of falling so unrestrainedly was heart-stopping and Raena was thankful this was something her gift allowed her to do.

A tattered wheat-colored roof came into view. Perfectly in sync, the pair threw out their wings and Toshio, taller of the two, gently touched ground first. They dusted themselves off and turned towards the dumbstruck couple that waited for them. The other pair seemed to revive as Raena and Toshio strode towards them.

The young woman broke away from her husband’s grasp and bowed deeply. Her gentle face was deeply anxious. “P-Please help our daughter,” she burst out before she could help herself. “The other Brothers and Sisters couldn’t heal her. They told us that only the Black and White Division could. Please, Sister Raena, Brother Toshio, I beg of you…”

A sympathetic smile touched Raena’s lips. She reached out and held the other woman’s hand. The woman’s dark blue eyes widened in surprise. “She is in good hands,” Raena said. “I just need you to do some things for me…”

“Of course! Anything!”

Raena met Toshio’s grey eyes and he nodded. As he went to explain the steps, she turned to the other man. His light green eyes watched her curiously. She knew she was different from him and was quite used to this reaction.

“Your daughter…?”

He started but quickly recovered himself. “Yes…yes, of course.” He hurriedly led her to a small closed-off room. With a comforting smile, Raena unfastened the thin rope that closed the door. Immediately, she was pleased to see that the parents had taken the measure to stop the spread of the Smoke. The window was closed, but curtains were drawn open�"Smoke thrived in dark places.

Underneath a large window, a small girl lay on a covered bed. Raena stole a glance at her. This child, who looked no more than eight, got hit hard by the sickness. Eyes closed, she was deathly pale and was shaking violently. She shook her head, sighing sympathetically. With much practiced movements, Raena drew out and started mixing the materials needed from a pouch that hung against her side. She vaguely heard the door being sealed and Toshio extracting a white feather from behind his neck.

“W-Who are you?” a small, weak voice brought Raena’s eyes up. The little girl watched her with dark green eyes that shone in pain and fear.

Raena knelt beside her and took her small hand. It shuddered and was ice-cold. Raena smiled encouragingly and she knew the girl felt her warmth. “Friends, little daughter,” she murmured. “Don’t worry. I will work some magic to heal you. It’ll be tough, but I know we can work together. Are you ready?”

The child relaxed. She tried a grin and slowly nodded.

“Trust me…” And the little girl held Raena’s hand just a little tighter.

 

 

 

Author's Note

Please suggest better titles and places where I should cut (if I need to at all). Anything will help me. Thank you!

Reviews

[Lucia]

A good, interesting, beginning that really grabbed my attention. What a way to start! =]
I thought the story was really fast paced and exciting also. But I am a little confused at how this is a sequel?
It doesn't really seem to continue the first story. Maybe I just missed something while I was reading lol that happens to me a lot >_< haha, but this really was an awesome read. Keep up the good work! FIGHTING! =]

[Star Wolf]

I thought this was great. Liked the world that you created and the characters. Very nice job.