Crystaline’s face lit up red at his words and she smiled. “You don’t need to do anything for me Colden..” She held onto his hands and felt the squeeze, her ears heard the nervousness in his voice. “I trust you,” her voice was now quiet as she tried to figure out just exactly what he was up to.

When they got outside she could feel the wind against her as her white hair flew up in the breeze. He was shaking and she tilted her head as he began to speak. “Close my eyes?” It was a musing question but she did it without hesitation. His hand left hers and she was curious. She felt his fingers against the skin of her cheek.

She felt him getting closer to her and then his lips were against hers. She jolted back for a moment but only in surprise since he had never been this straight forward with her. Her body had a tingling feeling to it as she pulled him back as he tried to pull away. She only thought it was a kiss he wanted to give her but she felt the magic of the area change.

Something felt… different as she kissed him. It took her a few moments to realize it wasn’t just a mental feeling from being around him and that something was ACTUALLY changing. She gasped a bit as she felt the magic growing out of her back. There was no pain. She quickly let go of him in shock. “Colden what did you do?” She moved her hand and it landed against large feathered wings.

The wings twitched and she felt the twitch within herself. It took her a few moments of shock as she fell down and began to hysterically cry. It wasn’t a bad cry as she folded the wings around her to feel them and pet them. “How?” She choked the question out through her tears. “Why?”

“I’m not going to do this because I feel like I owe you for your kindness, Crystaline.” He was trying to find the correct words to use, but not matter what, he felt like he was stumbling around with them. He smiled at her the best he could before leading her outside. It was a bit chilly today, but he could barely feel it with how he was shaking from the nervousness. It took much effort on his part and some summoned courage but soon he was motivated enough to deliver her the gift.

He tried not to linger for too long into the kiss, unsure of how she being taking this all in. Not until he felt her jump at the gesture and decided to end it as quick as possible. He didn’t want to put her in a compromising situation but Colden soon found himself shocked as she took him and pulled him back into it. His hands, still quaking a bit, found themselves on her sides before he too noticed that the magic had begun its work. He didn’t say anything as the wings manifested themselves onto her back once more and Crystaline had taken to them. His throat felt dry as it all started to hit her at once and he brought out some cloth from his pocket and tended to her tears.

“I…went to see Angela. I wanted you to have something that was taken from you. That’s why I hadn’t been around lately. She had granted me a favor to give them back to you.” Colden looked onto her wings, seeing how beautiful they were and how they made her even more so. A feat he hadn’t thought possible before. Scratching the back of his head, he decided to complete the thought he had stated earlier. “I did it because I wanted to. I didn’t want you to feel sad anymore. You didn’t deserve to go through that pain.”

Crystalline had just thought he was gifting her the kiss, she hadn’t thought about anything else that would come from it. She must have shocked him as she pulled him back into the kiss he gave her. His hands were on her hips now as she pulled herself closer to him. Her hands cupping his face, at least they had started to by the time the magic had begun to weave.

He was down by her now, she didn’t need to see to know that because she could feel the cloth tending to her tears. She knew he had been prepared for her to be emotional. “You asked her for a favor?” She didn’t want to know the price that Colden would have to pay but he did so without even thinking about what that price could have been. She was sure of it as she let the wings go.

Her lips trembled again as she tried to get her happy tears to stop flowing. “But I haven’t been feeling as sad anymore…” Her voice was soft as she pulled herself up using him as a guide. She was holding onto him. “I love my gift… almost more than anything in the entire world.” She was trying to find the words to tell him how she was feeling. “Almost but not completely.” She didn’t want him thinking she wanted something more and she bounced a little in frustration as she tried to make her shy mind say the words.

“You.” The word came out first and she blushed a bit as she stopped the bouncing and held onto him. “You are what I cherish more than my wings.” She had opened her eyes and while she stared at him it was her words that made it seem like she would be adverting them out of embarrassment. “I haven’t been this happy in a long time. Even before my wings… The time we’ve had together has been my favorite… It’s been the best.” She blushed deeper before reaching up and feeling his face for a minute or less. She pushed herself up gently using her wings to give her bit of a hovering. She hadn’t completely forgotten how to do that. She pressed her lips to his again. “Thank you, Colden…”

Colden had been somewhat prepared for her reaction, but at the same time he hadn’t expected it to be as heart tugging to him as it was. He felt as though he could cry for her happiness, but he strayed the tears away and smiled as big as possible. It was to the point where it was hurting his mouth but he didn’t care. Right there and then all that mattered was Crystaline’s happiness. “Yes…I wanted to do something nice for you. You helped me during my darkest time and I wanted to be able to give you something that was as meaningful as what you did for me. Whatever cost I have to pay pales in comparison to you getting your wings back.”

If it was still possible, he would have given her her sight back but fate was fickle. Still he couldn’t be happier to see her like this. He wouldn’t ruin it for her by telling her what he had originally tried to get back. “No, but I know that you’ve been through alot in your life and you’ve kept it inside you. I know a little bit about that. I just want to make sure I can keep the sadness away from you as much as I can.” He helped her up to her feet and didn’t mind the closeness she had to him. It wasn’t anything different from how they usually were with one another. Some would have seen this as them being much closer than cousins and more deeper than siblings were. He was protective of her as if he was a bigger brother but he felt different than he was with Kirika. Crystaline was very special to him and if he could do anything for her, Colden would without hesitation.

He looked to her as she explained how she felt about her gift, and there was some concern on his face and voice that perhaps he should have pursued getting her sight back instead. “Oh? Is there…?” Colden was unsure what she was trying to say and it seemed like she was annoyed by it but then she forced it out and he looked at her with his jaw hung open. “Me?”  He was going to protest that tidbit but she continued on. He never had anyone that expressed the feeling she had- his mother was unable to feel anything other than annoyance for him and he was working on building relationships with his siblings but Crystaline was a different matter. “I never been so happy until we have been around each other ever since. I can’t remember a time in my life that had been so joyous. I love it and cherish it.”

It was his turn to blush, “I felt…empty a little when I was gone to see Aunt Angela. I wasn’t sure why until I came back here with your gift. It felt as though the hole in me was filled.” He stood still as she brought her hands to his face and she started to hover on her wings. She looked even more angelic to him than before with her wings. His smile remained right up to when she kissed him and he kissed her back instinctively. His hands sought for hers to hold onto tightly, as if not wanting her to fly away. “You don’t need to thank me. It was you that saved me, after all. Save me from myself.” Colden thought about it for a moment or two before he moved into another kiss, this time one more sensual than before. He didn’t want to let her go, as selfish as that might have been, but he knew it wasn’t because she merely helped him out. It was because he knew that he felt something for her despite either of their flaws. Something that screamed that he wanted to be around her for as long as he could. It was the reason why he sought to make her as happy as he could like in this instance.