Outcast

[Raphael Reid]

Raphael walked aimlessly around the forest. He felt he was an outcast, hating the demon that always haunted him inside. Having hurt several other tribe members, he blamed himself. Wherever he went, the light kind of grew dimmer, Raphael was careful not to make it completely dark, for that always turned out bad. Raphael hated himself, and thoughts of suicide had crossed his mind several times. Would it be better if he just left and never came back? or if he just killed himself all together? Who knows, Raphael walked farther still, walking towards the edge of the forest. He thought about his life, all the trials he had gone through, all the obstacles he had bested, but to what avail? Just to end up the hated of the bunch? He loved his children, but if he couldn't be around them without hurting them, he had to leave. He sat under a tree, lost in thought, wishing that just one thing in his life could go right...

[Nikola Shadows]

"Hello, Raphael. Why so sad, my friend? What is troubling you?" Nikola said as he sat in front of Raphael. He sincerely wished to know why his friend was so sad, hoping it was nothing too serious. He was worried about his friend. He had been troubled too much lately, and he would not say why. Nikola was determined to find out why, and to cheer Raphael up. The day was bright after all! How could someone be so gloomy on such a beautiful day?

[Raphael Reid]

"Oh, nothing that I should bother you with," Raphael said, with sadness in his voice. How could Nikola understand? He hasn't seen as much trouble as much as Raphael had. Death had haunted him his entire life, now it was actually hurting him, not just vaguely driving him insane. Raphael put on a fake smile, and patted Nikola on his shoulder. "You shouldn't worry, I'll spend a few days away, then be back as good as new."

[Nikola Shadows]

"Spend a few days away? Nonsense, my friend! We need you here! The day is bright, my friend, cheer up, it's your kind of day! Put those worries of you behind you, enjoy the day and the sunshine. It will do you good. And put that sadness away! There's no need to be sad on such a glorious day!
"I Know you don't wish to tell me what is wrong now, but if you ever need someone to talk to, know that I am always here," Nikola said kindly.

[Raphael Reid]

Raphael looked towards the sky. It was a beautiful day, and Raphael normally would have been helping someone else cheer up, not the other way around. But, almost killing your friends does that to you, it put a very dark cloud on Raphael's mood. "Nikola, have you ever hurt someone you loved? Almost a family member? Have you ever felt powerless to save someone, like watching a cherished friend hang on the gallows, wrongfully convicted, but you were powerless to save them." Raphael said, slowly putting his head in his hands. "I remember my wife in times like this." Raphael had tears running down his cheeks, but he was smiling at remembering all the goodness he had had with his wife. "She was so beautiful, kind, caring, and a natural mother to the orphans. They all instantly loved her, you know. As if she was the one who had given birth to her." Raphael was now looking at the sky again, as if he was trying to look right into heaven. "She would have loved today." Raphael said, with sadness in his voice once again. Raphael manipulated the sunlight, and a faint glow of an angel appeared. It was Raphael's wife, standing in a beautiful dress, hovering above the ground. Raphael slowly raised his hand, and brushed her cheek. She smiled, and slowly faded. Raphael looked down again, a tear fell from his eye.

[Nikola Shadows]

"No, I have never delibrately huurt some I loved. But you haven't either. That was Seven Aces, and you are not Seven Aces. One day you will find a way to make that demon leave you, then all can be well again. Then you can live with your adopted family just fine, with no fear of the night. Trust me, my friend, that day will come.
"I do know your pain, though. I lost my entire family to a town of murderers. They killed them just because they didn't like them. I lost both my parents, and the little brother that I barely knew. I barely remember him now... He's fading away, and soon the small memories of him that I have will be gone. Then every memory I have of my past life will be gone.
"So I know your pain, Raphael. And I can tell you it will not last, your demon can't stay forever," Nikola said sadly, looking towards the sky. His eyes were rimmed with tears, but none fell.

[Raphael Reid]

"Nickola, you don't know my pain. You at least knew your parents in your childhood, mine were taken away before I even got that. Every one who's ever taken care of me has died. Even the old orphanage keeper, right when I was considering him my father, he died. You think all the orphans I lead from that orphanage survived the many miles we traveled? Walking in the cold winters, the blistering summers, starvation always nipping at you? No, you were off living the good life when your family died. They weren't ripped from your arms and killed two feet in front of you!"
Raphael yelled, hot tears were rolling down his cheeks. Raphael never cried, he had seen to much sadness to cry at petty things. But when it came to his most beloved wife, the tears always came. "I'm sorry, I loved my wife so much."

[Nikola Shadows]

"Raphael, I was not living the 'good life' when my parents died. I was out on my own in the world, and did not hear of their death til months after it had happened. I was out in the world since I was 17. My hopes and dreams to become famous quickly died, and I was left alone out there. Taking care of myself was hard, and I never became close to anyone. I had no one traveling with me, I was alone. My family were halfway across the world when they died, I was not even there to stop it from happening!" Nikola said sadly, getting angry. He stood and started pacing, his hands clenched at his sides.
"I could have stopped them if I had been there! I should never have left, I should have come home! I could have saved them! I could have kept them alive! It's my fault they're dead!" he shouted. He was angry, blaming his family's death on the fact that he had never come home. He sincerely believed that if he had been there, he could have prevented there deaths.

[Raphael Reid]

"Nickola, death is a horrible thing and should not be witnessed." Raphael said, a deep sadness on his face. "And so what if you were there? Were you going to die with them? Valiantly protecting them? How? How could you have done anything besides what they did? No, you would be pushing up daisies along with them! and, I would have one less person to call my friend." Raphael looked straight into Nikola's eyes. He put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I though you were here to make me feel better." Raphael had to smile at the irony. How Nickola had tried cheering him up but only succeeded in upsetting himself. "If you want to escape it all you can come with me. I was just going to go visit a couple of my children who I hadn't seen in ages. They would be happy to see a person I call my friend." Raphael said, looking back up at the bright shining sun.

[Nikola Shadows]

"Yes, I believe that would be nice. It would do us both some good. I guess a few days away won't do that much harm. Where would we be going? Which of your children would we be seeing?" Nikola asked.
"I did mean to cheer you up... But sometimes, even when you try to cheer others up, you end up bringing the sadness upon yourself," Nikola said sadly.

[Raphael Reid]

"Of course it wouldn't be any harm! Only good can come of it!" Raphael said with a hearty laugh, and a pat on Nickola's shoulder. Raphael picked up his bag, and was soon smiling like his old self again. "We're going to be seeing one of my youngest. I had had a little worry about him since I left him. He was only eighteen, I made sure he had a good start, but he's not the best with money. I was just going to go check up on him. I have more than enough money to give if he needs it. And no worries about Seven Aces, each one of my children have a room prepared for me." Raphael said, then in a little lower voice, "It's the getting there that will be a bump," Raphael said looking up wondering about something. "But that shouldn't be too much trouble! Ha Ha!" Raphael laughed with lots of joy. "Come my friend, we have a long way to go before we reach Ireland." Raphael said, bending light so a golden path showed before them.

[Nikola Shadows]

"Ireland? That really is quite a ways off, isn't it? Well, I guess that would be a good thing, give us a little longer to cool off," Nikola said with a smile. He loved how Raphael always had to have the dramatic affects, like the path of light.

[Raphael Reid]

"Well then," Raphael said with a big grin, "I'll give you time to go pack, and I have to make the arrangements," Raphael said, patting Nickola on the should before walking out of the forest. "Meet me at my house, I keep one just on the outside of the forest. I'll be waiting by the car. You'll love jack, he was always the funny one of the group." Raphael said with a smile remembering all the good times he had had.Raphael put his bag on his shoulder, and started towards his house.

[Nikola Shadows]

Nikola watched Raphael until he had disappeared in the trees, then he turned and walked quickly back to the camp. Yes, Ireland was ways away, but it would do them both some good to get away for awhile. He avoided people back at camp as he walked to his tent to pack. When he finished packing, he looked around at the small space and left with a smile. The trip would be fun, and he would feel better when they were home.
Nikola walked quietly through the forest in the direction Raphael had walked. When he arrived at the house, he found Raphael waiting for him. He smiled and walked up to see what the plan was.

[Raphael Reid]

Raphael was standing next to a car that looked like it came out of the early nineteen-hundreds. Raphael smiled, "I like to keep with the classics." Raphael was loading up some essentials; a large sword with runes on the blade, some medals to ward of evil, a silver pistol with silver bullets, a couple stakes, a vial of holy water, twin pistols with runic enchantments, and what looked like a bag with a head in it. "Just some precautions for our trip, I can't promise that the road to Ireland will be the smoothest. Being able to bend light, monsters aren't able to hide in the shadows of illusions. So, they target people who can see them, mainly us." Raphael said as he closed the trunk. "Shouldn't be that bad though," Raphael said with a smile as he climbed into the drivers seat of his antique car.