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Just a small short I wrote this afternoon. It was inspired by some thoughts I had after a french test. Also I was thinking of 'You're Beautiful' by James Blunt. It's a sweet song that helped me write this story. There might be more maybe if I think about it. Could be a cool story idea.

Beautiful

In the beginning things were simple. Raphael lived with his mother and father in a quiet country house. Every afternoon when Raphael would get back from preschool he would go with his mother down into the forest to play beside a small creek.

Raphael could still remember the day everything changed for him and his little family. It had been a day like every other day and Raphael was playing with the stones in the creek when he saw a great bright light above him. Raphael had looked up at the soft blue light just as his mother noticed that something was wrong with her child.

The source of the light was a massive man like creature with huge blue wings that seemed to shine with the soft blue light that filled Raphael's vision. In his memory Raphael remembered the man speaking to him. "What is your name child?" he asked in a deep magical voice.

"Raphael" he had replied.

"That is a good name" the blue man had said, "Do you know what my name is?"

Raphael had shook his head no.

"My name is Urim and I have come to give you a very special gift" he had said as he reached out to Raphael.

"What sort of gift?" Raphael had asked curiously.

"I'll have to give it to you first and you can decide that for yourself" Urim has said as he smiled.

Somehow Raphael knew what he had to do. Urim knelt down and Raphael walked into his arms. A warmth like the light of a thousand happy days filled Raphael as he was pulled into a gentle but strong hug. "You're so warm" Raphael said as he buried his face in the blue man's furry chest. Even his thick chest fur was soft like the softest spun silk and the feel of his solid muscle beneath his light blue hair and skin made Raphael feel warm and safe.

Urim chuckled as he hugged Raphael close. "I won't see you again for a long time little Raphael" Urim said as the warmth and light got brighter and stronger, "but I want you to remember that I will always be right here for you like I am right now"

Raphael nodded as the warmth and light reached their peak and Urim held him close for another few moments. Raphael never heard the cries of his mother as she watched the blinding blue light surround him. After a few moments in Urim's arms Raphael was released and he felt the strangest sensation like his shirt was melting away. Raphael felt the warm touch of Urim's hand on his back as the blue man guided him up the bank of the stream and towards his mother. "Don't be afraid mom" Raphael said and looked up at Urim. "This is Urim and he's my friend"

Urim looked down at Raphael one last time and smiled, "I will always be with you Raphael" Urim said as his hand fell away and he floated upwards and into the sky. Raphael watched as the Urim was lost to his sight.

Even though he felt the same Raphael noticed right about then that he was shirtless and that something heavy was on his back. "What's wrong mom?" Raphael asked innocently as he stretched and the weight on his back shifted.

"W... Wings" His mother stuttered and pointed behind her son, "Raphael you have wings!"

Raphael looked over his shoulder and noticed the massive white and silver wings behind him, "Oh!" he said as he remembered Urim's mention of a gift. This must have been the gift! "What do ya know?" Raphael said and smiled up at his mom.

From then on nothing was ever the same. At first his parents tried to hide him, but eventually someone found out and then things went crazy. It was a national sensation. "Angel Boy" the news called him. Raphael was subjected to all manner of tests in the local hospital. The doctors thought it was some sort of terrible cancer at first, but they quickly discovered that these were 100% real and natural wings.

The worst part was that while he was in the Hospital Raphael's parents were going through a rough time. Mary and Joseph Cross came under the fire of a fanatic group of religious Christians. One group claimed that "Angel Boy" was the Christ returned and another claimed it was just a sick joke. Mary's story of a winged man visiting her son one day in the woods outside their house branded her as a lunatic and while Raphael was left in the hospital under the care of the doctors his mother was forced into a rigorous battery of mental tests. Joseph abandoned his family quickly filing for divorce and leaving Mary with the mountain of medical bills that were piling up around the house.

After a month in the hospital Raphael got a haircut and much to the surprise of the hospital staff his hair had lost all its pigmentation. A few days later his eyes turned a milky silver color to match his wings.

While Raphael was in the hospital he quickly made friends with some of the less fortunate children in the cancer ward. The children who he played with began to show signs of improving and by the end of his first month in the hospital they were all cancer free. The doctors were baffled by the sudden change in the condition of the children and after a few days they decided that Raphael had been the cause.

A second burst of media attention claimed that "Angel Boy" could cure cancer and just about every other malady that afflicted humanity. Unfortunately for Raphael, who missed his parents sorely, he was unable to heal anyone else after those first few children. Once again the religious community was outraged by the claims and attention Raphael was getting. At long last Mary Cross returned to the hospital and checked her son out for good claiming that she would never allow him to return there healing powers or not.

As a child Raphael was very lonely. After the hospital Mary had struggled with the bills and they had been miserable for about a year. Fortunately though something happened to change that. Naturally Raphael would shed a feather here and there. After throwing away the first few plumes Mary decided to see if they might have some value. One of Mary's friends owned a tiny pawn shop in upper New York State. Mary packed up her son and moved out of Raphael's childhood house and into a small town just outside Buffalo.

It just so happened that a week after arriving at her friend's house Raphael started his first molt. Unlike a normal bird though Raphael's molt took only a few moments. After a rain of silvery feathers Raphael realized that not only did he have new feathers but his wings were a little bigger and stronger now.

While cleaning up the mess Mary had shown a feather to her friend who had quickly told her that the feather was almost pure silver aside from a few small parts that were organic. After selling a whole molt worth of feathers Mary and her friend quickly discovered that the amount of silver Raphael had produced was worth a small fortune. From that point on Raphael had been less of a burden to his mother and more of a source of income.

... Part 1...

Ralph looked around nervously as he walked towards the bus stop. It wasn't that he had never gone to school before or that he had hardly even met another kid his age since he was like four years old. Every other kid on earth had a one up on Ralph because unlike every other kid on earth Ralph had some things he couldn't hide. The first and most obvious were the two huge silver wings that protruded out the back of his modified tee-shirt. Even when he kept them folded they were massive. Second was Ralph's bright silver white hair. Fortunately Ralph could cover that up with a beanie.

As soon as Ralph turned the corner he froze in place. There were people standing at the bus stop already. Not only were they people, but they were kids too; kids that were Ralph's age. Ralph had left extra early in the hopes that he might not meet anyone for a while, but now it was too late.

Fortunately they hadn't noticed Ralph. Swallowing his fear Ralph remembered how hard it had been to convince his mom to let him go to high school to begin with. Ralph took one brave step towards the other kids and then another. Before he knew it he was only a few feet from the small group and somehow they still hadn't noticed him.

Ralph was aware that he must look pretty strange. He was wearing his backpack across his chest because it was the only way he would ever get one on. He had shaved that morning but like always Ralph already sported thick white stubble across his square jaw that trailed down his neck towards his shirt. Ralph kept his hair as short as possible but no amount of cutting stopped it from growing down his neck and onto his back. It was like his hair was trying to make up for his lack of feathers.

Ralph was pretty normal sized for a fifteen year old except that he was very well muscled. Not that you could have seen any muscle under the thick white hair that covered most of his body. There were some other strange things about his general anatomy, but Ralph could cover those up for the most part. As soon as he got close enough to hear the kids talking their conversation stopped and they stared one at a time at Ralph as he approached. "Is this for real?" One guy said as he stared at Ralph.

"Um... hi" Ralph said nervously and blushed as the three young men stared past him at his wings.

Neither of the three said anything at first until the one who had first spoken shook his head in disbelief. "Are those real?" He asked and pointed at Ralph's wings.

"Oh these?" Ralph said and ruffled his wings.

The kid nodded.

"Yea they're real" Ralph said as he stretched his wings out all the way to their full size. It had been a while since Ralph had measured his wingspan so he didn't really know how large they were.

Ralph smiled at the looks on their faces as they watched his massive silver wings stretch. As he pulled them back into their usual resting position the three young men seemed to come back to their senses. "That is totally cool!" the shorter guy said as he pushed his glasses up on his nose and stepped towards Ralph. "Can I touch them?"

Ralph blushed again and scratched his head. He hadn't expected anyone to act like this around him. His mom had been adamant that nobody would like him so this strange fascination in his deformity was slightly flattering. "I guess so" Ralph said as he raised his wings slightly to let the three guys reach out and touch them.

The feeling of their hands of his wings sent chills through Ralph who had honestly never felt anyone touch them before. "They're so soft and warm" the last of the three guys said in wonder.

Ralph chuckled and tried to hide his smile.

Once they were done the guys backed off and took Ralph in again. It was a pretty chilly morning and their breath hung in the air before them. Ralph couldn't help but feel like he was being judged. "I guess you're cool" The taller guy with brown hair said and smiled. "What's your name kid?"

"Ralph" he replied.

"Ralph... huh... well I'm John, this is Dave, and that's Mike" John said and pointed to the guys beside him.

John was tall with un-kept brown hair. He was pretty skinny, but he had a friendly face. Dave was shorter than John and had jet black hair. He also wore thick glasses that were constantly sliding down his nose. Mike was the shortest of the three and even slightly shorter than Ralph. Mike had thick curly red hair. It might have looked better if Mike tried to take care of it, but mostly it was a frizzy mess.

"Nice to meet you" Ralph said and nodded happily as he felt a wave of happiness wash over him.

"Um... Ralph" John said and looked at the wings, "Your wings are glowing"

"Oh, sorry" Ralph said as he pushed the warm feeling down and regained his calm. "That happens when I get excited or happy"

"That's... interesting" Dave said as he walked behind Ralph and inspected the wings a little more closely. "They sure don't seem to be fake at all... attached to large muscles on the back... mostly muscle and bone from the look of it"

"Dave... David!" John said as he pulled Dave away from Ralph's wings, "Sorry he gets like this when he finds something nerdy"

"It's cool" Ralph said as he wings glowed a little brighter and then dimmed.

"So hey... do you like video games Ralph?" Mike asked.

"Sure! I have lots of games!" Ralph replied.

It turned out that living at home his whole life had given him a social advantage with this particular group of young men because they seemed like the sorts that invested heavily in video games and movies. Ralph quickly learned how the three talked and in no time at all he was bantering with them about various games and TV shows.

When the bus pulled up Ralph had almost gotten over his initial shyness, but as soon as the large yellow vehicle stopped in front of him the giddy nervousness returned. Dave went first with Mike close behind him. They pushed through the bus and towards the back, but nobody was looking at them. All eyes were on Ralph as he walked into the bus. The darkened interior seemed to almost sparkle when Ralph walked inside the bus. Ralph slowed to a crawl but John prodded him from behind and pushed him towards the back of the bus. Ralph found himself sitting in the back seat beside John who continued the conversation they had outside. Thankfully the seats made it hard for the other kids to see him and Ralph couldn't tuck his wings in anymore than he already was.

The ride was mostly uneventful until the bus arrived at the high school. Ralph got some weird looks as he made his way out of the bus and towards the school. Mostly though Ralph was herded around by his three new friends. They didn't even seem to notice that people were staring at him as he was ushered through the school courtyard towards a distant table and bench. "This is where we hang out in the morning" John explained.

After a while some curious students showed up to ask about Ralph. John took charge of managing the incoming students. He didn't seem to have any trouble keeping the others away from Ralph until a few larger guys showed up and muscled their way to the front of the line. "Out of my way nerd" the largest guy said as he pushed John out of the way.

"Now listen Sam, you can't..." Dave started to say but the bulky jock pushed him out of the way before he could finish.

"Hey!" Mike said as he was shoved aside.

Sam, as Dave had called him, came right up to Ralph who swallowed nervously as he looked up at the larger male. "Um... hi"

"What the hell is up with this?" Sam said and reached past Ralph to grab his wing.

Ralph dodged more out of reflex than fear of the other guy hurting him. Ralph's wings shot out as he moved backwards away from Sam extending to their full length and height. There was a communal awe as the shining appendages reflected the bright daylight almost like two huge textured mirrors. Sam frowned at Ralph who nimbly jumped on top of the table he had been standing beside. "Leave him alone!" John said as he caught up with Sam and pushed him roughly.

"I might have if you hadn't butted in, but now I think the new kid needs a lesson in how things work around here" Sam said and turned to Ralph. "You better hope those wings of your work because you're going to need them if you want to get away from me!"

Ralph panicked as Sam lunged at him and with one strong flap and a good strong push he was airborne. Ralph could count on his hands the number of times he had been allowed to fly, but somehow this felt different than those times. A sort of soft energy seemed to push outwards from his wings as they began to shine brilliantly. Ralph sailed over the heads of his peers and landed on the other side of the group just as Sam started to push through the other kids.

Ralph didn't think he could just fly away from the bully so instead he turned and started running. Wings didn't help when running like this so Ralph just tucked them in and bolted as fast as he could. Sam shouted something behind Ralph as he pushed through the crowd and finally burst through. Ralph glanced behind him and realized the perhaps running from a football player might not be such a good idea.

Ralph closed his eyes and turned back to look where he was running. Unfortunately he was a little late in turning back around which he realized as he slammed into something huge and hard. Ralph bounced off the large object only to realize that he had run into someone not something.

Ralph scrambled to pick himself up off the ground but Sam had already caught up. A meaty hand grabbed Ralph by his shirt and hauled him up into the air. "Now you're going to get it bird boy!"

Ralph closed his eyes and waited for Sam's fist to meet his face, but the punch never came. In fact Ralph felt himself drop back down onto his feet. As he cautiously opened one eye and then another Ralph noticed that Sam was actually backing off.

"I don't want no trouble Brad" Sam said before pointing at Ralph, "If you know what's good for you than you'll leave bird boy with me and get on with it"

A deep voice chuckled behind Ralph, "What are you going to do if I don't?" it asked.

"Awe fuck it" Sam said and grimaced, "We're not finished fucker" he said and pointed at Ralph.

Ralph slowly turned around and looked up at the guy behind him. Even from his position at the guy's lower chest Ralph could tell he was massive. A golden halo of short hair framed the face of the largest guy Ralph had ever seen. Not only was he tall, but he was also crazy muscular. A huge arm reached down and stopped just before gently stroking Ralph's wing. A soft silver light began to shine from behind Ralph as the giant ran his hands over the silky silver feathers. Ralph couldn't explain the sensation he was feeling, but it was like the safest warmest feeling of happiness he had ever felt before. The glow grew stronger as Ralph looked up at the mountain standing before him. "Thanks... for saving me" he said and blushed.

"I couldn't let Sam ruin those wings of yours" he said and smiled briefly before looking past Ralph and frowning.

The giant turned and started to walk away, "Wait! Don't go..."

He didn't even turn back as he walked away towards the school, "I got somewhere to be"

The sound of three guys running to catch up with him distracted Ralph from the young man who had saved him. "Holy shit Ralph, you run into Samson Kale and Brad Hicks in the same morning and somehow live to tell about it?" John said between huffs.

"You've gotta have some kind magical powers man" Dave said and panted, "How did you fly like that!?"

Ralph blushed as he turned around to face the three. "I don't know really" he said and scratched his head.

"Well regardless I bet flying is pretty fun" Mike said and grinned really big, "Why even walk around when you can fly like that?"

"Actually that was the first time I really tried to fly" Ralph said and continued to blush.

Eventually the bell for class rang and Ralph had to make his way to his first class. Unfortunately it looked like he had a completely different schedule from his friends. They didn't even have lunch together! Once again Ralph was nervous because it looked like he had almost every class with Samson which meant they probably had lunch together too.

Someone else had classes with Ralph too. Brad Hicks. Ralph had sat beside the giant every period to avoid Sam, but Brad didn't seem to pay much attention to him at all. In fact the giant was focused on the teacher most of the class except in math when Sam had sat too close and Brad had given the jock a nasty look just before standing and dragging Ralph's desk into the next row and then sitting between the two. The teacher had been too surprised to say anything so she just kept on teaching class. Ralph was glad for the wall between him and Sam because he was tired of Sam throwing paper at him.

Lunch came all too fast for Ralph who thankfully didn't have third block with Sam or Brad. Ralph made his way cautiously through the halls and towards the cafeteria. He got a few friendly waves from some students he had met that morning, but Ralph was too concerned with the coming confrontation with Sam to think much beyond what he was going to do to avoid him.

Sam didn't seem to be in line for food yet so Ralph made his way through the food court as quickly as possible and picked out some standard fare before emerging back into the cafeteria to look for somewhere to sit. The sixty or so tables were filled with plenty of students, but Ralph knew he couldn't blend in so long as he had two huge silver wings on his back. It was almost a little unfair really.

Fortune smiled on Ralph as he spotted Brad sitting alone at a table near the entrance to the courtyard. Ralph made his way towards Brad and quickly put his tray down in front of the other male. Brad looked up at Ralph and frowned, but he didn't say anything.

"H... hello... again" Ralph said and looked around nervously.

"Hey" Brad said and looked back down at the table.

The two sat in silence for a while before Ralph realized Brad wasn't eating anything. "Um... are you hungry?" Ralph asked.

Brad didn't say anything for a long while "Yea" he said without looking at Ralph.

"Want something to eat?" Ralph asked.

Brad looked up at him with obvious confusion on his face. He waited a long time before looking at Ralph's mostly untouched food. "Naw, that's your food"

"I could buy something for you" Ralph said in an almost pleading voice.

Brad seemed to thing before responding. "You don't have too"

"I want too, please?"

Eventually Ralph convinced Brad to come get something to eat. Ralph took him through the line and bought all sorts of stuff to eat. It was mostly meat products, fruit, and some veggies. After sitting back down Ralph watched Brad eat and smiled when he realized how hungry the other guy must have been. Eventually when they had both eaten their fill Brad looked up and broke a smile. "Thanks... for the food"

Ralph's wings glowed softly as he responded, "It's cool!" he said and beamed up at Brad.

After eating Ralph and Brad made their way outside to the courtyard. Ralph kind of felt like he was just following Brad around. Brad stopped at a secluded table on the far side of the courtyard. Ralph thought he was angry when he turned around and suddenly scowled. Brad moved quickly putting himself between Ralph and Sam who had walked up behind Ralph along with a few of his football friends.

"You're being stupid Brad! You don't want to pick a fight with us you fuck head" Sam said and crossed his arms.

Brad bristled at the insults. "Leave him alone Sam! If you want to mess with him than you have to go through me first" Brad said and pulled Ralph closer to him.

Once again Ralph felt the warmth flowing between him and Brad. "You're wrong" Ralph said and stepped in front of Brad and stretching his wings out. "You'll have to fight both of us!" Ralph said as his wings started to glow brighter and brighter eventually reaching a near blinding brightness. "Leave me alone or else!" Ralph said as the searing light from his wings reached a nearly painful intensity.

Sam and the other jocks stumbled away from the blinding light as they realized it was burning their skin. Sam felt the warmth inside him subside to normal levels as he turned to look at Brad. "That was scary!" he said and sighed.

"What do you mean?" Brad asked and looked at him curiously.

"Well I don't think I can do much more than what I just did really" Ralph said and frowned, "Also they probably would have won if they had actually tried to fight us"

Brad frowned. "Don't fight them... come get me if they mess with you again"

"Thanks" Ralph said and looked up at Brad with admiration in his eyes. "My name is Raphael, but everyone calls me Ralph"

Brad smiled, "I like that name, Raphael, it's like you're a little angel"

Ralph wilted at the word angel, "I know, I go by Ralph just so people don't think that"

"So you're not an angel?" Brad asked.

"Not by a long shot. I never even knew how to make my wings glow like that until I met you today. All the sudden they just started glowing left and right" Ralph explained. Brad didn't reply, he just looked down at Ralph. "Sorry for ruining your day" Ralph said and blushed.

"You didn't ruin my day" Brad said and frowned at Ralph's words.

"Really?" Ralph asked and ducked away as Brad reached for his beanie.

"What's wrong?" Brad asked.

"It's just... I don't want you to think I look weird" Ralph said.

Brad smiled and pulled the beanie off revealing Ralph's short white hair and his pointed ears. Ralph looked at Brad sadly as Brad inspected the silky white silver hair on Ralph's almost feline ears. Ralph winced when Brad reached out and gently stroked them. "I know... they're ugly"

"No..." Brad said as he looked from Raphael's ears to his eyes, "You're beautiful too me"