Prince of Light
by Ewen "Blackbird" Cluney

Chapter 1
	Nicky looked at the grocery store's tiled floor as he 
walked down the aisle. It was weird; it was as though the floor-
lights -- the blurry rectangles of light on the floor -- were 
following him. He walked faster, and they kept moving. Every 
tenth step or so he could pass one up, but they'd all keep moving 
no matter what. He stopped, and they stopped. The other people 
were moving, he noticed, but the floor-lights didn't move for 
them. Only him. Why?
	He ran as fast as he could, but the floor-lights kept right 
up. Why? Why were they after him?
	Nicky stopped as he came to a dead end. They were there, 
creeping up. It seemed to have gotten dark all of a sudden. The 
floor-lights surrounded him completely, then waited.
	"Get away..." Fear reduced his voice to a desperate 
whisper. "Leave me alone!" He trembled with the effort of his 
terrified panting and the force of his pounding heart.
	"Nicky!" It was Mom's voice! She'd stop them! She wasn't 
afraid of anything. "Nicky! Get back here!"

	"Nicholas! Wake up!"
	Nick stirred and sat up. He felt faintly achy, and was 
sweating in the near-summer heat. The dark blue trench coat he 
wore probably wasn't helping any either, not to mention the black 
pants and T-shirt. Okay, so he hadn't really been thinking about 
the consequences of his choice when he was getting dressed that 
morning.
	Geometry class. He'd fallen asleep, resting his head on the 
pillow of his folded arms. Mrs. Victor was glaring at him over 
her reading glasses with an expression of stern irritation. Her 
own fault for being so damn boring, but he knew better than to 
say as much. Teachers hated being criticized. "Perhaps you'd care 
to give us your input as to how to prove that triangles ABC and 
DEF are congruent?"
	Don't be a smartass. She hates that. He squinted at what 
was on the overhead projector, and saw only a random mass of 
colored lines and curves and indecipherable letters. "Sorry," he 
said quietly. "I wasn't paying attention."
	"Well--!"
	She was cut off by the grating swiss-precision 5-second 
ring of the bell. Like everyone else, Nick got his stuff 
together, zipped up his bag, and started out the door before Mrs. 
Victor could object. He ignored the teacher's shouts about the 
homework assignment and headed out.
	Phil and Jon said they'd be busy with some club thing. Nick 
had never been one for clubs, least of all Mock Trial, so he 
started walking on home. It was the usual route, but the heat 
that hung heavily in the afternoon air made it exhausting. He 
broke out into a sweat almost immediately, and halfway there he 
had to stop and sit down under the shade of a walnut tree.
	A cool breeze blew, stirring his messy black hair. "Damn 
it's hot." he muttered. He rested a while, leaning up against the 
tree. He was usually an impatient person, but fatigue drove him 
to let it go and relax. He let himself hear the birdcalls of the 
blackbirds and sparrows, and looked up at the tree, watching the 
delicate slivers of light that danced through its swaying 
branches.
	Footsteps made him jerk to alertness. He turned to see a 
figure dressed in a massively heavy brown coat with a deep hood 
obscuring their face. In fact, with the addition of pants, 
gloves, and boots, not one inch of bare skin was visible. From 
the size and general shape he suspected the figure was female. 
The gloved hands worked methodically, collecting walnuts into a 
small cloth bag.
	"Aren't you hot?" he asked.
	Apparently they hadn't realized he was there, because the 
figure jumped at the sound of his voice.
	"I said, aren't you hot in that?"
	A shrug. "I... a little." There was an odd, musical quality 
to the voice. Nick couldn't quite place it. But it was definitely 
female.
	He wasn't too good at dealing with girls -- he just hadn't 
had many opportunities to practice -- so he immediately got 
nervous. "Only a little? It's supposed to be almost a hundred 
degrees today..."
	"It doesn't bother me that much. And you?" It was as though 
every word she said was accompanied by a sound of wind chimes, 
just on the edge of hearing. The sound was familiar somehow. He 
found himself thinking back to the bowl he'd broken when he was a 
boy, the clear glass one that his mother had made cookies in. The 
sound it made when tapped with a wooden spoon. Or... was there 
something more?
	Nick shook his head and stood up to face her. Her tentative 
posture suggested nervousness. "B-by the way, what school do you 
go to?"
	"Um..."
	Something was nudging a distant memory. For some reason he 
was thinking about a magnifying glass or a window, or--
	He wasn't sure why, but when he next blinked he realized 
he'd just pushed her hood back. The face that looked back at him 
in fright was like nothing he could've imagined. She was 
beautiful, with short "hair" parted to one side. But that head 
was transparent, as though made of finely polished glass. And yet 
the glass face moved like the real thing, the eyes blinking now 
and again, the mouth trying to work its way towards saying 
something.
	Suddenly Nick felt a heavy hand close around his wrist in 
an iron grip. Before them stood a tall, middle-aged man with a 
stern expression that made his face look like chiseled stone. 
Wordlessly, he pulled the two of them towards the aging Victorian 
house whose front lawn they'd been standing on.
	In short order Nick found himself sat opposite the glass 
girl. She took off the coat and boots and gloves, revealing jeans 
and a tank top, and an entire body that looked to be made of 
polished glass. Each of them was seated on one of three large, 
old chairs with ornate red upholstery that were probably 
antiques. She gave him a nervous smile and held her hand up in 
front of her face to illustrate its transparency. When he managed 
to tear his eyes away from her and take stock of his 
surroundings, he saw that the house was in bad repair, all told. 
The paint was peeling in places and there was dust everywhere. 
Tall shelves held countless dusty books and glass figurines were 
all over the place, in the shapes of people, geometric shapes, 
and fanciful animals.
	When the old man came back, he had a dour expression on his 
face. "Well." he said. "Now that you've seen Elaine what're we 
going to do with you?"
	He'd been trying to grapple with the implications of what 
he'd seen, but couldn't fathom it. The man was obviously skilled 
in making things of glass, so... had he created the girl? She was 
beautiful and, apparently unlike his other creations had a life 
of her own. Did this man have some kind of special power or 
something? "You... made her?" he sputtered.
	Slowly the man nodded. "You could say that. I didn't really 
expect her to be so... alive... mind you. But I'm sure you can 
appreciate the fact that I want to keep her secret safe."
	Nick managed a nod. She was beautiful and unlike anything 
else in the world. How many would want to possess her, to keep 
her as a living piece of art or cut her open to see how she 
worked? Nick found himself ready to swear to protect her from 
such harm. It was odd, since he'd only met her a few minutes ago.
	"So again," muttered the old man, "what do we do with you?"
	"I don't think he'll tell anyone." replied Elaine. She 
smiled with an odd certainty. "I think he likes me too much 
already to let anyone hurt me."
	Both males stopped short at that. The old man was 
alternately looking at either of the two teenagers, while Nick 
was trying to comprehend what had been said. She was right, 
but... how could she have known?
	The old man sat down on a chair between them and folded his 
arms, closing his eyes to think. His mouth twisted into a frown
	"Don't worry." said Elaine. "Dad's actually really nice. He 
just doesn't like to show it very often."
	That frown deepened slightly. "What's your name, kid?"
	Letting out a sigh, Nick gave his name. "Nick Phoenix."
	One would expect Nick to have gotten used to that kind of 
incredulous stare, but this guy managed to do it with an unusual 
level of intensity. "What are you, some kinda' superhero or 
something? What's your real name?"
	Nick scowled and pulled out his wallet, opened it to his 
student ID and held it up so it could be clearly seen. "Nicholas 
X. Phoenix." The old man read aloud.
	Before the obvious and irritating question could be asked, 
Nick added, "The X is for Xavier; my Dad's big into comics. I 
think I left my birth certificate at home."
	Surprisingly, that seemed to satisfy him. "Fine fine. 
That's Elaine and I'm Alexey Huntford. You might've heard of me."
	Nick shook his head as he put away his wallet.
	Alexey shrugged. "Can you at least guess what I'm known 
for?"
	"Glass sculptures?"
	He nodded and carefully stood up. "Anyway, Nicholas Xavier 
Phoenix, do you swear you'll tell no one about Elaine?"
	Nick nodded immediately as he looked at Elaine. "I 
promise." Maybe this was what they called "love at first sight."
	"Good." Alexey pulled out a pistol from his pocket. Nick 
and Elaine both jumped, but he handled it casually. "Relax; it's 
not loaded or anything. 'Course I coulda' had you peeing your 
pants, bullets or no." To illustrate he pointed the gun at the 
ceiling and pulled the trigger. Only a hollow click followed. 
Letting out a tired sigh, he added, "Since you two seem to get 
along, why don't you come over once in a while? I'm usually busy 
with one thing or another, and Elaine could use some company 
besides the books."

	The woman who stood before the Oracle had short black hair 
and brown eyes, and was dressed from head to toe in white. The 
Oracle looked to be a girl, no more than ten years old, but Ariel 
knew better than that. The Oracle was in the care of a normal 
family, so this meeting took place on the blacktop of an 
elementary school, seemingly deserted because class was in 
session.
	The Oracle wore ordinary overalls and a T-shirt, but the 
young face that regarded Ariel had infinite patience and deep 
eyes that seemed ready to pull in those who would look at them. 
Her kind were rare and often mad, but the Oracle  was different.
	"So, you're back again."
	Ariel nodded. Her last encounter with the Oracle had been 
an accident, but it had changed her life forever. "Yes."
	"And, I see I was right about you. As usual." The Oracle 
smiled faintly and sat down on the ground, cross-legged. "But 
this visit it not for yourself."
	There was little need to say much of anything when dealing 
with one who could see into the future, and the Oracle seemed to 
appreciate silence.
	"Your order will soon find the One it seeks."
	Her heart skipped a beat. The One would return soon? Of 
course, the prophecy said he'd reappear 1,000 years after his 
demise, and... if what she'd read was correct it was just about 
time.
	The Oracle's eyes never quite seemed to be seeing what was 
before her. "I can feel him, you know. It's as though he'll shape 
the choice of Sephiroths taken by the whole world. A great storm 
of events encircles the world, and he is at its heart, making 
ripples in the ocean."
	She had to report this to her superiors as soon as 
possible. "Thank you." she managed.
	The Oracle nodded. "Go, but remember that he cannot be 
controlled, but you must support him. You yourself more than the 
others."

	No matter where he went or what he did, Nick saw Elaine's 
polished, shining face. He just couldn't get her out of his mind, 
no matter what he did. He'd catch himself staring into space and 
smiling, thinking about her musical, crystalline voice, her 
smile... His friends couldn't help but notice, but considering 
that he couldn't tell them about it, it was more an annoyance 
than anything.
	"Dude! You're even more of a space cadet than usual today." 
Phil was making his way through the lunch that his mother made 
for him -- the same thing every day.
	Jon elbowed Phil in the ribs. "Who cares? At least Mr. 
Trench Coat is happy about something for a change."
	"He's usually in a good mood--"
	"Not like this!" Phil grinned at Nick. "Whatever you're on, 
lemme have a hit of it when you're done!"
	Jon rolled his eyes, and leaned just close enough to Nick 
to make him back away a little. "Looks lovesick to me."
	Nick felt an unfamiliar heat in his cheeks -- he was 
blushing. "It's nothing." he managed. "Really." Nothing? It was 
Elaine. But it wasn't as though he could tell them."
	Jon shrugged. "Well, if you don't want to talk about it 
we'll drop it."
	"We?" Phil was ready to say something only to get another 
elbow in the ribs.
	"Yeah." replied Jon. "We."

	When school was out, he practically ran over to her house. 
She let him in, and it turned out that Alexey was out for the 
day. Nick found himself standing there awkwardly, and his cheeks 
felt warm. She was wearing a simple dress made of thin white 
cotton.
	Elaine smiled gently, and took his hand and carefully 
pulled him to the backyard. A cool summer breeze whispered 
through tall grass and the branches of venerable walnut and pine 
trees. A tall fence separated the huge backyard from the rest of 
the world. She let go of his hand and stood on top of a log, 
balancing easily.
	"I'm glad you came." she said at last. "I can tell you want 
to know more about me. Go ahead and ask."
	Nick looked up at her and considered what to say. 
"Aren't... Aren't you afraid of breaking?" That sounded stupid, 
and as soon as he'd said it he wished he could take it back.
	"Are you?" she replied. She was looking at him with an 
earnest, open expression.
	"No, but..."
	Elaine stepped down from the log; Nick hadn't realized he'd 
been holding his breath. "If anything I'm more durable than a 
normal person. A window or a bottle you can break easily, but I'm 
made of solid glass all the way through." She smiled gently. 
Transparent as she was, it seemed she was the one who could see 
through him. "Besides, I try to be careful so you don't have to 
worry."
	What could he say to that?
	She sat down on the log and motioned for him to do the 
same, which he did. "Dad said he was given a really big piece of 
good quality glass; apparently it had formed when there was a 
huge lightning storm on a beach. When he got it into his studio, 
he just started carving out of nowhere, without knowing what 
would come out. And when he was done, that was me. We don't know 
how or why, but I just opened my eyes the day he finished, and 
he's taken care of me ever since."
	"So..."
	"I kind of like being a mystery." she mused.
	That, thought Nick, was odd. Most people wanted to 
understand themselves, lamented things they couldn't figure out. 
But she liked being impossible. It must be... liberating somehow.
	"A touching scene," said a voice behind them, "and so quick 
to end. A pity."
	When Nick spun around, he saw a slender man who wore an 
outfit consisting mostly of black leather. He couldn't put his 
finger on it, but something about him made him start to fear and 
hate this man almost immediately. Nick came to hi feet, 
suppressing a snarl. "Who the hell are you?" Nick startled 
himself with the force of his own words.
	The stranger looked variously amused and annoyed. "Boy, you 
have no idea what you're dealing with. Leave before you get 
hurt."
	That meant... Elaine. Nick placed himself in front of her 
and stood his ground. He wasn't much of a fighter, and if this 
guy knew any martial arts to speak of Nick would be in trouble. 
But... Even if it was insane, he was determine to protect Elaine, 
whatever the cost.
	With a shake of his head, the stranger gave a slight 
gesture. Even meeting Elaine hadn't prepared him for the 
impossibility of what happened next. It was as though a tendril 
of pure black had appeared from nowhere and whipped Nick with 
impossible force. In the haze of pain, Nick found himself being 
held in Elaine's glass arms.
	"Why?" she pleaded. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
	"My master has sent me to collect Alexey Huntford's 
masterwork. I had not expected something like this. He's a 
skilled craftsman, but still a mundane."
	Nick must've blacked out somewhere, because the next thing 
he was aware of was the man, holding Elaine, sinking into his own 
shadow. Mustering his strength, Nick grabbed Elaine's hand and 
held on with everything he had. She watched him pleadingly, tears 
like glass beads dropping down her cheeks. For a moment 
everything was darkness. Nick had always hated darkness, for as 
long as he  could remember. He was a little afraid of it too -- 
he still slept with the light on, sometimes.
	Then he found himself on a cold, dry  marble floor. 
Footsteps echoed in the hallway as Nick staggered to his feet and 
tried to get his bearings. Slashes of light dimly illuminated the 
hallway, empty except for fluted columns of cold. smooth glass. 
His side hurt, but not so much that anything would be broken, so 
he started after the sound of the footsteps.
	In walking he passed by glass cases filled with glass 
sculptures of every size and description. Big and small, mundane 
and fantastic, beautiful and terrifying; whoever owned all this 
was one hell of a collector.
	So much so that he wanted Elaine
	 The trick would be rescuing her without getting himself 
killed or something. Mr. Black Leather had some kind of... power. 
That was the only way to describe it. He'd seen a second 
impossible thing now, and unfortunately more were probably in 
store. Nick was running on pure adrenaline now, but he slowed his 
footsteps at the sound of talking.
	"Incredible! I knew the sculptor was gifted, but this...!"
	"Let me go." That was Elaine's indignant reply. Nick began 
moving closer, not knowing what he could do, but certain that he 
had to do something, anything.
	"Isn't it incredible, Cage? A thing of glass that moves and 
speaks!"
	"I may be made of glass, but I am a person!" There was an 
edge of fear to he voice. Treating a person as a thing... Nick 
seemed to remember hearing somewhere that that was how evil 
began. His hands were clenched into tight fists. He was almost 
there.
	"We have a visitor." said the man in black. Cage. He said 
is casually, as though noting the presence of a trail of ants.
	There was probably nothing to accomplish by hiding, so Nick 
stepped out into the open; through massive double doors that were 
left wide open he saw a tall man dressed in white. The room was 
filled with more glass works, and stained glass windows lined the 
walls, the dim light of the afternoon sun filling the room in a 
dismal haze of colors.
	The man in white regarded him about how one would an insect 
that may or may not be crushed. "Boy, I will give you one chance 
to leave with your life."
	Nick surprised himself again by standing his ground. "I'm 
not leaving without Elaine."
	With a shake of his head, the man gestured. All of the 
glass pieces in the room seemed to come to life, poised to attack 
at his very command. More impossible stuff. "Since you are about 
to die, it makes no difference if I tell you. I am Albrecht 
Whisman, an Elemental Master, and my power is that of glass. I 
could shatter that piece with a thought."
	Elaine shivered; he'd as much as said he could kill her at 
will. Elaine he could handle, but these freaky powers were 
another matter. Thinking clearly was a challenge at this point, 
but he suspected that this man waned to keep Elaine more than he 
wished to destroy her. But then, he might prefer that over 
letting someone else have her. Nick found his blood boiling as 
he'd never imagined possible. "If you did that, I'd have to kill 
you." The words were delivered is a low, fierce tone, and Nick 
only barely restrained himself from covering his own mouth 
afterwards. What the hell did he think he was doing?
	Whisman gestured and scything blades of glass sprouted from 
Elaine's body, shredding her dress before retracting as though 
they never were. The scraps of her dress fell to the floor around 
her. "Hmm... Alexey never was one for being explicit. But no 
matter." This was true, apparently; in a distant corner of his 
mind, Nick noted that there were certain... details missing about 
her crotch and chest... "Boy, you will die by the hands of this 
creation." Elaine took a jerky step forward, her hands reaching 
out. Glass-bead tears fell down her cheeks onto the floor.
	"He's controlling my body," she sobbed. "I can't stop, no 
matter how hard I'm trying!"
	Time to think fast. Two guys with freaky powers, and Elaine 
was being controlled and about to kill him. He had... himself and 
he might be deprived of that very soon. Nick ducked under 
Elaine's reaching arms, and punched Whisman as hard as he could 
in the face. His hand hurt like hell, but the guy was staggered 
and bleeding a little. That left Cage--
	Black tendrils snaked upwards from Nick's own shadow and 
wrapped around him. Cage shook his head. "Love makes people do 
stupid things, and now you'll die because of it."
	Glass hands closed around his throat, squeezing with 
restrained strength. He struggled and tried to hold on, but it 
was to no avail. His vision was getting cloudy, his thoughts 
muddled. Elaine was crying. He shouldn't make her cry, and 
neither should anyone else. So hard to breathe. So dark. He hated 
the dark. That horrible void. Light. He wanted light. Needed it. 
It gave him strength.
	Nick blinked, and saw a bright haze around him. Elaine's 
terror had given way to shock and confusion, and the tendrils of 
shadow that held him were melting away. Something was burning in 
the back of his mind, blazing brightly. It was like there was a 
sun shining away in the recesses of his brain, just now rising 
the surface. It was a heady feeling, terrifying and exhilarating 
all at once. He was on his own feet, but Elaine's hands still 
held his throat. He pulled her closer and held her. There was 
something so familiar about it. He put one hand on her stomach.
	Light filled her and her hands pulled away to hold him more 
gently.
	Whisman sputtered and fumed as he shielded his eyes. "How 
is this possible? Are you an Elemental Master yourself?!"
	Cage nodded gravely. "A Light Master. A strong one. My 
powers will be of no use to you here."
	"Fool!" sputtered Whisman, " Kill him!"
	The Shadow Master faded into darkness and vanished, shaking 
his head as he did so.
	Whisman turned to face Nick, his expression one of the 
purest hatred. The glass figures that still hovered in the air 
trembled. "Your newly discovered powers mean little. You don't 
know what you're doing, while I have honed my skills over many 
years. You might become a god one day, but here and now I have 
the advantage!"
	Nick gently moved Elaine to one side. She was looking at 
him with awe and fear. He clenched his hands into fists and 
realized that he was glowing; a powerful white light was 
illuminating the room, and he was its source.
	Then everything seemed to happen all at once. Dozens of 
glass sculptures shattered or grew wicked blades, and as one they 
flew at him. Not at all sure what he was doing, Nick pointed one 
fist and unleashed... something. He felt glass cutting him all 
over all the same, and spots were dancing in front of his eyes.
	"You were warned." said Whisman. "Light refracts through 
glass, or had you forgotten?" The glass blades began to swirl 
around, a translucent cyclone that moved ever closer with each 
second.
	There had to be some way to do this. But how? Freaky light 
powers or no, he was already bleeding, and would more in a 
minute. Light refracts through glass. It looked like he was going 
to be cut no matter what. Even as it closed in on him, he flailed 
away, putting out as much light as he could, filling the world 
with incredible, blinding radiance.
	The next thing he knew, he lay on the floor, which was now 
slick with his blood. The air was half laughter and half screams. 
Light blazed in his mind, obscuring everything. It hurt to even 
think. All he knew for certain was that he was about to die. 
Leaving Elaine unprotected scared him even more, but then, both 
terrors seemed ready to descend on him. Through the haze of pain 
and fear, he was only dimly aware of Elaine standing over him, 
her glass bead tears raining down on him. It couldn't end this 
way. It couldn't/
	There it was again, the light that flooded his brain, 
obscured everything. It grew brighter and brighter. There was a 
presence that reached up from within him to take hold--

	Elaine gasped in horror as Nick rose to his feet as though 
propelled by an unseen force, and gripped the sides of his head, 
letting out a cry of pain and anger. The strange, villainous man 
-- Whisman -- looked on in surprise, and was preparing another 
attack. Nick was panting heavily, as though he'd drop from 
exhaustion any second, but he still stood his ground.
	"What are you?" demanded Whisman, his clenched fists 
trembling.
	What happened next was to be the biggest shock of all. Nick 
opened his eyes and threw back his head, a bellow of rage rising 
up from his throat. Those eyes were not the blue she remembered, 
but instead twin portals into a sea of endless glowing white that 
hurt to look at. What sprouted from his back looked like 
feathered wings, but they were made of pure white light, so 
bright it Elaine couldn't look at them for very long. The feel of 
his light passing through her before had been... comforting 
somehow, but now it scared her.
	"ENOUGH!" The floor shook with the force of the voice. It 
came from Nick's lips, but it was not his. Whisman shuddered, and 
the pieces of glass that hovered in the air trembled as well. 
Nick, or whatever apparition it was that wore his face, pointed 
one fist at the windows. A beam of white radiance streamed out, 
sweeping across the windows and letting sunlight pour in as the 
multicolored shards of glass rained down.
	The look on Whisman's face was not one that Elaine had seen 
before, but she suspected it was the expression of a man who knew 
he was about to die. The shards that had once been the stained 
glass windows joined those that hovered in the air, reshaping 
themselves into the sharpest, most jagged forms possible. Elaine 
could feel a vibration in her body, as though he were trying to 
take control of her, change her, as well. Maybe Nick's light was 
keeping it from happening...
	"I don't care if you are him," panted the Glass Master, 
"I'll destroy you!"
	The myriad shards of glass shot forward. Nick stood hi 
ground, his face split by a wide, arrogant grin. Elaine averted 
her eyes in terror, and heard only the sounds of glass striking 
the far wall and shattering. She hated that sound, now more than 
ever.
	When she dared to look again, she realized that Nick was 
standing behind Whisman.. The specter of him that stood near her 
flickered and vanished. "An illusion..." she breathed.
	Whisman spun around just in time to take a vicious kick to 
the face. Sprawling on the floor, the tried to scramble to his 
feet, even as light grew to an intensity that obscured all 
vision.

	Nick came to lying on a bed. Dim sunlight filtered in 
through the windows, and a gentle breeze stirred the curtains as 
he lay there. He felt a twinge of pain as he sat up, and realized 
he had a bunch of bandages all over. He felt weak, woozy. What 
the hell happened?
	As memories came back to him, he shuddered. But even with 
all that, he was alive. Somehow...
	Hearing heavy footsteps, he turned to see Elaine by the 
door. "You're awake." she breathed, relief plain to see on her 
glass face.
	"What happened?"
	She let out a sigh like a whisper of wind-chimes. "I'm not 
sure..." She was worried about something. "But you won." she 
added reluctantly. "I know that. I called Father and had him 
bring you back here."
	That explained how he'd gotten here, but... why couldn't he 
remember the conclusion of the battle? It was as though it had 
all been a dream. Had those powers been real? He held out one 
hand, and concentrated. A ball of light appeared in his palm. 
Before he realized what was happening, Elaine was cupping her 
hands around the luminous sphere, smiling faintly.
	"It... feels good." she murmured. Straightening, she added, 
"You'd better get some rest. Don't argue."
	He let out a sigh and let his head rest on the pillow, 
worries fading away like shadows at dawn.

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Ewen "Blackbird" Cluney                     blackbird@blackbird.nu
Blackbird's Domain                        http://www.blackbird.nu/
The Official Thrash Home Page          http://thrash.blackbird.nu/
Knight Kevlar of the Immortal Frog        Silver Knight of Mihoshi
              "Be nice to me; I might just develop 
             psychokinetic powers and destroy Tokyo!"
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