☸ Renegade ☸

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Matt felt them before he saw them coming. Two Nephilim, a faerie, and a shifter. He ducked into an alley and peered around the corner, his eyes searching the street. Nothing. They were close enough that they should be there, though, which meant they were using camouflage. He focused his mind, searching for the telltale sign. Illusions weren't perfect; they could hide you, but if someone knew what they were looking for--say, someone with centuries of experience--they could be penetrated. Matt found what he was looking for, a glimmer in the air, like a heat wave, only it was early January and heat waves were very unlikely. He narrowed his eyes, throwing all his mental energy into piecing the illusion. He didn't unravel it, though he could have, but rather he just peered through it to see the four Lucidus behind it. All of them wore the Guard uniform. Tight-fitting, foggy-blue outfits under leather armor. They'd definitely draw attention to themselves if they were spotted by the normal folks.

Matt cast a camouflage of his own, along with a spell he'd developed himself over the years--it masked his magical abilities. Soul-sensors wouldn't be able to feel him, no matter how hard they tried. This form of 'cloaking' was very useful when you were on the run from the Heavenly Guard. He backed down the alley, keeping his eyes on the soldiers. It was stupid, he realized, coming back to New York. He didn't think they'd realize he was there, right under their noses, especially not so soon.

[assassinrue]

Nyatia was walking down an alley, her nose in a book, her wings tucked tightly against her back when she smacked into something. She reflexively looked up to apologize and then run for her life. She saw no one. "Hello?" She backed herself against a wall but there was already something there she lept forward and spun around, her wings stretching out, her senses on high alert. "Hello?" She sounded less confident this time.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Shit." The disembodied voice sounded just to her left. He could turn invisible, so to speak, but he couldn't step through solid objects. He looked over his shoulder at the sound of approaching footsteps. Somehow, the Guardians had known where he was and turned down the alley. "Shit," he said again. "Uh, sorry. I have to go now." He slipped past her, his arm brushing hers as he went by, which had to be a disorienting experience when you couldn't see what was touching you.

[assassinrue]

Nyatia glanced around her and realized that someone had been following the invisible form and began to run, spreading her wings to drag herself above the buildings. She arched quickly in a u-turn and followed the hunters. Once it looked like they gave up and turned around, she landed, as she did her wing smacked something. What the hell?

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Oof! Can you watch where you swing those things?" The same voice as before, but a second later the illusion dispelled and Matt appeared. "I don't like getting hit by wings, no matter how fluffy and soft they look."

[assassinrue]

Nyatia suppressed a giggle. "Sorry I didn't see you." She rolled her eyes at herself. "Obviously." God she was a dork sometimes.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Matt straightened up from the crouch he was in and gave her a small smile. He tilted his head, his face turning serious a moment later. "You're not an angel," he said. "What are you?"

[assassinrue]

She immediately hung her head in shame. "I'm nothing."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Well, that's certainly not true," he said. He narrowed his eyes, concentrating. "I'm getting... faerie. Angel and faerie hybrid? Interesting." Come to think of it, the lines of her face, the sort of ethereal beauty, was a giveaway. Not even angels were that pretty.

[assassinrue]

Nyatia nodded and glanced up at him through her eyelashes, slightly darker than her platinum blonde hair and a contrast against her pale skin. "Like I said, nothing. I'm in between."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Don't be ashamed of being special," Matt told her. He glanced to his right and his eyes widened. "Impossible," he whispered. A man was walking toward them, one of the Nephilim from behind. His camouflage was gone, and he had a sword in his hand. At least they were off a main road.

[assassinrue]

Nyatia spun around, spreading her wings a little to hide Matt behind them. She slowly walked towards the Nephilium. They weren't going to bring anyone down today.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Ah, perhaps we should just... you know, run," Matt said. He avoided violence wherever possible, and he didn't want to see this girl get hurt.

[assassinrue]

Nyatia bared her teeth. "And run forever? I don't think so." Without warning she turned into a lion, lunging at the Nephilium and drove her teeth into his shoulder, clawing at his ribcage.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

The Nephilim dived to the side, avoiding her claws but not her teeth. They nicked his arm and he grunted in pain as he hit the ground.

"Crap," Matt muttered. A lesser being, a coward, might have turned and ran anyway, but he wasn't going to let these two tear each other apart. He held out his hands, summoning the air, and then threw them apart. A mighty gust of wind threw the Nephilim and Nyatia apart, slamming them both into the wall on either side of the alley they were in.

[assassinrue]

Nyatia changed back rapidly. "What was that for?" She snapped. "Trying to help your sorry hide." She mumbled, sized down to a snake and bit the man's ankle before changing back and taking off on her wide spread wings.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Matt gave a heavy sigh and watched her take to the air. He glanced at the man groaning on the pavement and walked over, resolute to help him even if his people would have him locked up for eternity. He placed his hands over the man's wounds, the snake bite first, and combined the five elements to heal him. "Water to soothe, fire to energize, earth to strengthen, air to mend, and spirit to regenerate," he murmured as he worked. The saying had been around for a long time, and though most understood the theory of healing, few had mastered it.

[assassinrue]

Nyatia tucked away her wings and watched the two men. Why in the world would he heal someone who was bound to lock him up and torture him? It made no sense, he would just go after him again later.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Once it was done, Matt straightened up. The now-healed Nephilim looked up at him in astonishment. "Why would you heal me?" he asked. Matt frowned down at him. "Because it was the right thing to do." Then he shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to walk away. The Nephilim didn't try to pursue him.

[assassinrue]

Nyatia felt like tearing them both to pieces. Men were ridiculous. She flew after the healer for a wild then landed behind him, tightening her wings behind her back. "Never mind the idea that that was 'the right thing to do', but why on earth would you heal him?"