8. Disturbing Sight

"Raymond, you can't just show your wings like that. People will see," Ravi panicked as he hurriedly pulled Raymond inside the house after finding Raymond with torn clothes when his wings forcibly burst out in the middle of their front yard. Ravi sighed heavily; he didn't see anyone around for a moment and felt a bit relieved.

Raymond's large wings were folded behind him. Ravi gazed at Raymond with understanding and asked, "Why did you go outside and reveal your wings? We've talked about this, haven't we?"

Raymond's eyes shifted away from Ravi's gaze. "Someone was constantly looking through Ravi's window, so I came to see."

"And you revealed your wings? Listen, Raymond, you mustn't display them in public. People will be scared, and it will lead to many problems," Ravi explained patiently, hoping to make Raymond understand.

Upon hearing Ravi's words, Raymond immediately stood rigid, his head automatically tilting down, showing clear signs of remorse. But Raymond remained silent, closing his lips tightly. Ravi sighed heavily and stared at Raymond intently as Raymond began to open his mouth, only to close it again.

"That person might have been just a neighbor," Ravi pointed out, emphasizing Raymond's reason.

However, Ravi's eyes caught a slight shake of Raymond's head. Ravi raised an eyebrow. "So, who was it?"

Once again, Raymond shook his head.

"Look, Ravi, he's only been here for a week, and he's going to make a fuss about his brilliance," Daniel said sarcastically, suddenly entering the living room, and approaching Ravi and Raymond.

"Daniel!" Ravi scolded Daniel, glancing between his brother and Raymond.

Daniel rolled his eyes and simply walked away. Ravi stared at Daniel's back for a while, the memory resurfacing.

"Stars, tell her. I despise her. So much, more than I can bear," Ravi distinctly recalled Daniel uttering those words with intense hatred. Was that about Raymond? Did Daniel hate Raymond so much? But why?

Ravi, as if he had forgotten his anger toward Raymond, left him and walked quickly to his room. For some reason, in Ravi's mind, he couldn't accept that someone would hate Raymond, especially if it was coming from Daniel. Even their parents had accepted him on the first day, and Ravi himself believed, from the first time he saw Raymond, that he was not an evil person.

Ravi found himself asking once more, who was Raymond to him? He didn't even know how Raymond had lived his life before being sent here. He didn't know why it had to be Ravi, whose name was written on Raymond's chest. Ravi knew that since Raymond's arrival, his life was going to change significantly.

***

Ravi was lost in thought to the point that he didn't notice the sun had started to rise. He was pondering how his days had passed with Raymond without questioning what Raymond had done before and why he stayed in a place where horses were kept. More precisely, why was he sleeping in the horse stable? His wounds? And how could he end up here just because Ravi made a wish while blowing out the candles? It couldn't be that simple, could it?

Ravi remembered Raymond saying that he had arrived earlier than he should have to save him from an execution for something he never did. But if Ravi hadn't made that wish on his birthday, or if Raymond hadn't really been executed, would Raymond still come into his life as he had now? Ravi didn't know if it was destiny or something that had been planned.

Ravi moved away from the window, stopping his daydreaming as he stood, looking out into the unknown. He reached for the cold doorknob touching his skin and opened it to find Raymond sitting behind the door.

Raymond jerked and immediately stood to face Ravi. His nose and eyes were red, with traces of tears on his cheeks. "Ravi, I'm sorry. Sorry for making Ravi angry. I promise I won't do that again," Raymond pleaded with a hoarse voice, and Ravi didn't know how long Raymond had been crying like this.

"What are you talking about?" Ravi asked.

"Ray made Ravi angry with the wings," he regretted.

Ravi raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to keep crying. You were wrong, but I forgive you."

Raymond wiped away the tears with the front of his torn shirt, and Ravi realized that he was still wearing the shirt with the back torn wide open.

"Raymond?" Ravi called softly.

"Uh!?" Ravi's breath caught as the intense aroma he had forgotten all day suddenly invaded his senses in a way that almost overwhelmed him.

The scent of melting chocolate in the autumn air, coupled with other indescribable fragrances, left Ravi spellbound. His cheeks felt warm, right up to his earlobes. What was it about Raymond, gazing at him with his eyebrows concealed in his disheveled hair? Not to mention the twinkle in those differently colored eyes that seemed to grow brighter with each passing moment.

What was it about him that suddenly made Ravi have the urge to bury his face in Raymond's broad chest and breathe in deeply? Ravi felt like he might be going crazy.

If Ravi remained silent, breathing as if he would never breathe again, perhaps his sense of smell would take over to eliminate his embarrassment at acting abnormally with Raymond, who was just like him. "I'm also sorry for what Daniel said."

Ravi's tongue darted out, moistening his dry lips, or perhaps he felt a bit nervous, Ravi himself didn't know. He was just waiting for Raymond to respond, and he was thankful that the scent no longer overwhelmed him as it did before.

"Daniel is right. Ravi doesn't need to apologize; I was indeed wrong," he mumbled, looking down at his outstretched long fingers.

Ravi closed his eyes for a moment just to hear his heart pounding. "We're done with this conversation; I need to get you some decent clothes."

As Ravi stepped inside Raymond's room, he vaguely heard quiet murmurs from Raymond. "I'm sorry."

***

"Ravi, look!" Raymond almost yelled in a hushed tone as he saw something outside his bedroom window.

Ravi placed a blue cloth on the nightstand and moved to Raymond's side to see what Raymond was pointing at. "What is it?"

"Over there, across the street. The same person who kept looking into Ravi's room earlier. And now he's doing it again, Ravi," Raymond said with a voice that Ravi feared could be heard from outside, making the person leave immediately.

Ravi could see him; he was a tall man in strange clothes with silver hair, and Ravi was quite sure that the man was looking in his direction. He was just standing in the sunlight, and Ravi squinted as he saw something gleaming in the man's hand.

Ravi focused his vision further to ensure that the object the man held wasn't what he thought it was.

The man's hand moved, still gazing, and Ravi's eyes widened when he could see clearly. Ravi froze, subconsciously gripping Raymond's wrist tightly. He saw a shimmering sword smeared with red liquid that was undoubtedly blood.

But it didn't end there. Ravi froze further without realizing it, tightening his hold on Raymond's wrist as he observed the man's wings, which were white and almost identical to Raymond's. The wings flapped, and he flew away somewhere.

"Adrian?" Ravi heard Raymond whisper in a choked voice beside him, but he wasn't sure if that was what he actually heard.