"How?"

Sky sat across the desk from Seto a few hours after the duel. He didn't like the desk there. It made him feeling like he was in trouble. (He kind of was, though.)

"I'm more skilled than you think," Sky replied. "I told you."

"There's no way that you had that much control over your power if that really was the second time you've ever taken your suppressor off." Seto was leaning back in his chair, putting more distance between them. Sky really couldn't blame the guy.

"Well," he shrugged, "I did."

Seto's eyes bored into him, and frustration was evident on the sorcerer's face. "You don't say," he said bitterly. "But I don't believe that it was all you. You haven't exhibited strong emotional attachment except to your three companions..." His face now portrayed thoughtfulness, though the silent anger still simmered in his chocolate eyes. "Are you and Deadlox..."

"No!" Sky sputtered, ashamed to feel heat rising to his face. "I told you, I'm just skilled!"

The general scowled at him. "As you've told me." He leaned forward, as if sharing a secret. "In all honesty--don't laugh, I'm very honest with you and you know it--what confuses me is this: how did you," he gestures vaguely at Sky, barely hiding contempt, "a recent spawn and a traveller, defeat me, a general and, not to brag, the most powerful sorcerer on the island and maybe even the mainland?"

Sky grinned. His victory was fresh in his mind and overpowered the horror at his temporary loss of control. "Beginner's luck?"

Seto dismissed him.

Before he even got to the barracks, something with dragon wings descended from overhead and scooped him into its arms. Deadlox cut his scream of surprise short with a stern look. "We should talk," was all he said, and flew towards the beach on which they arrived on the island. Sky felt worry tighten itself into a knot in his gut. With Seto, he could sass back because of their contempt for each other. Not so much with Deadlox, with whom conversations were genuine. So he waited in silence for Deadlox to land on the ground, folding his wings and then gently lowering Sky to the sand. He then stepped back and folded his arms.

"Are you okay?" Deadlox asked. Sky stared at him.

"Yes," he said, a genuine answer.

"What happened out there?"

"I..." Sky stayed seated in the sand. Deadlox sat down across from him. "I lost control. Like in the field. But it was different this time. I was able to pull myself back."

"Obviously," his friend replied. "Or we would not be sitting here right now."

Sky smiled a bit, more of an apologetic expression than a happy one. "Aren't you going to ask how?"

The demon hesitated for several seconds. Then he answered, "I suppose it doesn't really matter, because it worked." More silence. His next words could have paralyzed Sky. "But it has something to do with Jason, doesn't it?"

The brine was shaking, and for some reason he felt his eyes burning as tears welled up in them. "Y-Yes," he whispered, and started crying.

He could feel Deadlox's eyes boring into him, but he didn't expect to feel the hands on his shoulders. He looked up. Deadlox's eyes were mere inches from his own. When he spoke, he could feel his breath on his face.

"Sky," Deadlox said softly. "It's okay. It's really okay. You probably had good reason. You've been through the same things as I because of him."

He felt so grateful towards his friend in that moment, he could barely speak. Their relationship had evolved so much in these past months and now he had discovered that he hadn't even known the extent to which Deadlox trusted him. The tears flowed faster. He wrapped his arms tightly around his friend, as if holding on to him kept his world together.

"Thank you," he mumbled into Deadlox's shoulder. He felt the other boy nod slightly and realized that he was soaking his shirt. He didn't care. He hoped Deadlox didn't, either.

When they finally pulled apart, Deadlox's gaze had sharpened. "Now," he said carefully, "I would like to know what Jason can do that I can't." No jealousy in his voice.

Sky smiled and began to talk. He told Deadlox firstly about his lessons these past few nights. ("So that's why you were talking in your sleep." "Yeah. Sorry.") Then he continued on to reassure Deadlox that Jason himself was not an evil, supernatural being trying to kill immortals. Something powerful and deadly was possessing Jason's physical body and had kept the conscious mind of Jason prisoner in his own head. When Ashley had died, it gave him enough power to free himself from the Wither's grasp.

"So Jason--the real Jason--now exists as a subconscious being," Deadlox said carefully after Sky had finished. The latter nodded.

"And we're not up against him, but a creature possibly more powerful than the both of us."

"Yeah."

"Great."

'Yeah."

Neither said anything for several minutes. They stared at the sand in front of them and thought their individual thoughts. Sky wondered what Deadlox was thinking about. He wondered if he was thinking about Sky. Sky was certainly thinking of Deadlox.

The sound of the waves was a soothing one, even though the water posed a serious threat to him. He wondered what it would be like if he didn't fear the water so much. He didn't really have to, actually. It just...it made him feel mortal and reminded him that despite his growing powers, he was vulnerable. Killable.

"Hey, Deadlox?"

"Yes?"

"How come the water weakens me and not you? I mean, if you're an End demon, and don't Endermen supposedly come from there? And they're hurt by water. Since you're sort of part of the same nature..."

"I guess it is just the basic 'water beats fire' sort of deal."

"Ah."

"Hey, Deadlox?"

"Yes?"

"I want to have wings, too."

His friend laughed, obviously caught off guard by the statement. "What makes you say that?"

Sky stared at the dragon wings. "They're so cool."

Deadlox stretched one out, gazing at it as well. It occurred to Sky that he hadn't put any suppressors on since they had reached the island. "They're a bit of an inconvenience sometimes."

"Yeah, but..." Sky frowned. "Pretty much every immortal we've met has them or can make them appear, except for the sorcerers."

"You can already fly," Deadlox pointed out.

"Yeah, but wings are just awesome," Sky argued. Deadlox shrugged.

"You probably make some appear if you wanted to. You'd have to take your amulet off."

Sky winced, but considered it. "Technically...technically since I just released a lot of power, I should be good, right?"

Deadlox studied him carefully. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "I want to try it" He stood. The sand clung to his pants and legs. The demon stood along with him. Sky took a deep breath.

"If I go overboard, put my amulet back on, no matter the cost," he told him, and Deadlox nodded. Sky slipped the amulet from around his neck.

Energy flooded through him, but it was nowhere near as intense as earlier. It was still a rush, and he still felt his veins fill with fire, but he didn't feel the overwhelming desire to destroy. When he looked at Deadlox, who had backed up a cautious step or two, he only felt a faint wariness. Did that mean the monster's hate was built partly on fear?

"Wow," he said. It sounded like several voices echoing. "This is actually really cool when you're not trying to fight someone."

Deadlox let out a relieved sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "Okay. Now try to form wings."

"How?" He frowned.

His friend rolled his eyes. "I don't know. Imagine it. Channel your power."

Sky imagined wings stretching from his back, made from light and shimmering with flame, and focused his energy on the part of his back just between his shoulder blades. He craned his neck to look back and there they were. He couldn't help but giggle giddily.

"I did it!" He flapped them once, experimentally. "Wow!"

"Now try sleeping with them, or sitting normally in a chair." Deadlox grinned.

"I probably won't keep them that long." He spun in a circle, feeling a little foolish but not really caring because he knew that Deadlox wouldn't.

"Good. I don't know if they really suit you."

"I think they do. I look great!"

"You always do."

The moment the words came out of Deadlox's mouth, Sky could tell he regretted saying it, like he had just admitted a secret he shouldn't have told. But he couldn't help but pry.

"Oh, do I?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Sky moved a step closer. Deadlox didn't move away.

"It...is true, though."

Another step. They were only about a foot a day, if that.

"Thank you." Sky gave him a cheeky grin. Deadlox looked him evenly in the eyes, giving a small smile in return. He tucked his wings in tightly, as if nervous. That was the only sign of what he was feeling.

Finally, Sky decided to leave him alone. He let out another small laugh and stepped back, going back to admiring his wings.

-

He had been so close. So close. It had been so tempting to reach out to him, hold his face in his hands, wrap his wings around him, feel his warmth. Deadlox watched him admire those fiery wings. The wings were bright and gorgeous, a perfect reflection of Sky himself. You don't even need the wings, you fool, he thought affectionately, heart leaping in his chest every time Sky laughed.

What's going on with you, Deadlox? You've gone soft.

You know exactly what's going on.