A cloud of smoke clears after a magic spell is cast, and Kainan is now an eyeball with wings. (joy)

Kainan: Gah! What did you do to my bird? (Looks at himself) ... more importantly, what the hell did you do to me?!

Demitri: (apolegetically) At least you can move around now.. I’m uh, sorry about the bird. I only meant to copy its wings onto you. Not... destroy it. (Sweatdrop)

Kainan: I really hate to break this to you, but your magic ability SUCKS, Demitri.

Demitri (pulls out a small rag and bites on it) Oooh, you’re so right. Waaaah.

While Demitri is feeling sorry for himself, Kainan spots a shelf with sharp objects.

Kainan: Farewell, dear friend. (Flies towards the sharp objects.)

Demitri: No! Don’t! (Casts a spell) Ia duk! Ia Andarra! Ia zi battu ba allu! (A force field surrounds Kainan, and causes him to bounce off the sharp objects upon impact. He lands on the floor with a splat. Demitri walks over to him.)

Kainan: (very angry) That’s IT! (He flies around the room, knocking books off shelves and making a mess. When he grows tired of this, he perches on a bookshelf and folds his wings around him protectivly.)

Demitri:Kainan--

Kainan: Don't touch me.

Demitri: I'm sorry... (holding up his hands in surrender)

Kainan stares at him coldly.

Demitri: Sorry.. I'll give you some time alone.. I'm really sorry, Kainan.

Kainan says nothing.

Demitri: (thinking) Don't hate me.. If you give me some time, I'll find some way to fix this. It was never supposed to end up this way. I only intended to give you another chance. (He glances over at the moody eyeball.) Don't do anything stupid like killing yourself again. (He retires to his room for sleep. Later, Demitri wakes up in a cold sweat, and finding he can not go back to sleep, he returns to the research room.)

Kainan is fast asleep.

Demitri watches Kainan for a moment. Careful not to disturb the sleeping eyeball, Demitri gingerly picks several books off the floor and sets them on the table. Seating himself quietly on the stool, he opens a book and is absorbed in his reading. (thinking) There's got to be a way to restore his body to normal form. What went wrong the first time? I must truly be the worst necromancer—who else could have made such an impossible mistake? (Mumble) Must be something in one of these books.. (beginning to get sleepy) Must .. find a cure.. (eventually falls asleep, head first in a spell book)

A knock at the door is heard.

Demitri wakes up with a start. He looks groggily over at Kainan, who has a horrified look on his face. With a sheet of paper plastered to his face, and dark circles under his eyes from being up all night, Demitri looks half dead.

Demitri: ughh uhh.. (drags himself over to the door.)

Kainan: (very alert, very nervous) Demitri.. I think that's probably my fiancee..

Demitri: (still very out of it) Fiancee? (decides that Kainan is kidding, and forces a weak chuckle to humor his best friend) How come you never told me?

Kainan (not amused, hurriedly) I'm NOT kidding. Don't tell her that I'm me..

Knocking persists. A girls voice calls out: Hello? Kainan?

Demitri (staring at Kainan) But you are you.

Kainan: (staring icily at Demitri) Wake up already. If you tell her that I'm Kainan, I'll kill you.

Demitri: (snapping out of his 'trance') Oh... (gives Kainan a sincere and apologetic look)

More knocking.

Demitri finally opens the door. He looks like a dead corpse.

Angelica: (loosing her composure. Her eyes go wide and she bites her lip. After a moment of staring, she forces a smile.) H-hello, sir. Might Kainan be home?

Demitri: (desperately trying to form a response in his mind.) No.

Angelica: (annoyed at the brief response) Do you know where he is, sir?

Demitri: (coldly--brief and to the point—the only way he knows to act around people he doesn't know) No.

Kainan (perched nearby) Must you always act this way towards people, Demitri?

Demitri (trying to be nicer to her for Kainan's sake) I think perhaps he.. (frantically searching for a reasonable answer in his mind) he went to another music festival following the music festival in Torac.

Angelica: (muttering/perhaps thinking to herself) But to just leave like that without telling me.. surely there must be a different reason.. and it doesn't explain why I didn't see him in Torac.

Angelica (snapping out of her thoughts) Sir, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but what might you be doing at Kainan's residence..?

Demitri: I'm his best friend. (forcing himself to say more) A... small place like this is more than enough for two people.

Kainan: Which is why you sleep in the hallway, right? Sure, more then enough room, Demitri.

Angelica: (forces a smile and extends her hand) I am Angelica Shelia Allan, from the house of Tyr de Allan. (confiding smile) I'm Kainan's fiancee.

Demitri (holding out his hand slowly. Their hands touch awkwardly for a moment.)

Angelica withdraws her hand, embarressed, and is surprised to feel herself blushing.

Kainan, unable to bear hearing anymore gets up from his comfortable perch and flys into another room.

Angelica (pretending to be frightened, but actually fascinated) Aghh! (stepping back) What is that thing?!

Demitri: My familiar. .. Quite an.. odd fellow, as you can see. (nervous laugh)

Angelica (beginning to grow warmer to Demitri's company, she indulges in a hearty laugh.) Yes, and such a handsome fellow too. . . does he have a name?

Demitri: Ah.. ah.. Bob!

Angelica (giggles) Such a creative wizard—

Demitri: Necromancer.

Angelica (stumbling over the pronounciation of the unfamiliar word) Necromancer. (naïvely) Is there a difference?

Demitri (back to short responses, growing nervous again) Necromancers dabble their fingers in working with the dead... (not willing to go into anymore detail)

Angelica waits for him to say more.

Demitri (in an attempt to break the silence) Would you like to come in and have some tea?

Angelica (hungering for more of this talk, which is so taboo in her own house) Yes..

Demitri: Follow me.

Angelica: (peering through the open door leading to the researching room. A pile of books is on the table, a mess is on the floor.) Learning a new spell, necromancer? (enjoying the way the word rolls off her tongue)

Demitri (smirk) Something like that..

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

Cut to the the majestic castle of the Queen of whatever. She is sitting at her throne, looking pensive. To her right is her serving lady, a white mage named Lily.

Three guards burst through the doors, all but one holding a struggling, scrawny man in chains.

The guard not holding a prisoner speaks: Your Majesty, we found these spies skulking around the castle. What do you wish be done to them?

Queen: (leans back) Execute them.

Guard: (nods) As you command.

Lily: (shocked. She grabs one of the Queen’s arms.) Mistress! You can’t! The human life is precious. Can we not, at least, put them to work somewhere instead?

Queen: Lily, these men knew what their fate would be if they were to be caught. I could not trust them to work for me, because they are not my loyal subjects. (Turns to the guard) Punishment still stands as execution. Be on your way.

The guards bow and exit.

Queen: (her look hardens and she slaps Lily) Remember your place next time. You are not to question my methods. Stop acting like a priestess when enemy lives are on the line. You need to think more logically about these things. (Smiles) Tell me Lily, what do you think the outcome of the war will be?

Lily: (holding her reddened cheek) As things are now, mistress, it doesn't look so good for us. I have appointed servants to search out powerful black mages, or at least ones with potential to learn a spell capable of destroying our enemies, but none have returned with results.

Queen: How unfortunate for us that the only black mage we've found was that ungrateful welp you resurrected in that pathetic village in Taz'r country. I'm very dissapointed that he turned us down, aren't you?

Lily: Yes, mistress. I felt strong latent powers in him. He was exactly what we were looking for.

Queen: I wonder what became of him. . .

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

Back at Demitri's home.

Angelica: (walking out the door) Demitri, it has been a pleasure meeting you. However, I must be going now, due to the nescessary duties for a lady of my standing. (She speaks with an obvious dislike of her duties) Take care. I'll return in a few days to check on Kainan's whereabouts again. (Departs down the road)

Demitri: (returns the the dark research room. He sees Kainan, sulking in a corner on a shelf. ) Why didn't you at least say "Hello" or something to her? I saw the way you were watching her. You miss her, don't you?

Kainan: . . .

Demitri: If you're worried about her discovering--

Kainan: Even if I was worried, that wouldn't make a difference. I'm only able to speak telepathically to you. .... What is the point of human greeting anyway?

Demitri: Kainan... You're human too.

Kainan: (Icy glare) Do I look human to you?

Demitri: (saddened) I'm sorry.. your body.. I'll restore it.

Kainan: Right. As if your shoddy skills will ever get good enough.. Why the hell did you ever try to resurrect me? Your necromancy ability is novice at best. There was such a large margin for error!

Demitri: But you were dead! I HAD to try something!

Kainan: I think I would have preferred death, Demitri. (looks at his lute which is propped up against a shelf) Look, my lute. I'll never be able to embrace it's slender form again. Never will I strum it's delicate gossamer strings and bring forth it's alluring voice. No, NEVER again. And Angelica--what will become of her? I cannot gaze upon her beautiful face without feeling shame. Are you going to continue lying to her when she comes back in a few days? Tell her I'm travelling the countryside for the perfect lute? Should she have to wait forever for my return, because of you?

Demitri: I'm.. sorr--

Kainan: Shut up! I don't need your sympathy. And I don't need your false hope either. If you're going to do something, do it. And I mean something better then these lame wings. If not, tell me now, so I can kill myself and get it over with.

Demitri: Don't kill yourself.. I have a couple ideas on how to help you.

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