He saw them.
When Nicholas's kite string veered off into the forest, he didn't know what he expected to find. As he followed the trail from the string, he thought about what would be at the other end. He expected a bird hit it or, as his little sister would suggest, an alien ship. Nick didn't believe in that stuff. Never could. So when he found a girl, petite and tangled in the string, he was honestly surprised. How did she get caught in the string? Was his first question. He would have asked her but she started panicking the second she saw him.
She was trying to escape. Her body was small but curvy. Her legs were long and lankly, bare feet kicked as she fought for freedom. She had really small breasts. He blushed at the thought. He wouldn't have noticed since her clothes looked loose but the string wrapped around her made them strain against her dress, her nipples very clearly defined.
He tried to reassure her. She was probably in shock. She sounded like she was. She kept saying all this stuff about him setting traps to capture her. She finally stopped struggling to look up at him. She still had tears in her eyes but she tried to look tough. She was adorable. "My name is Nicholas." He said calmly, trying to coax her from her shell. "You can call me Nick. What is your name?"
When she just stared at him, he placed his had on her head. She flinched, as if he were going to hurt her. Just then, Nick felt a sudden surge of hatred toward the unknown people who hurt this beautiful, young girl. And beautiful she was. Even covered in dirt and leaves, she was almost too beautiful to be real. Her hair, cut unevenly, was like gold silk against his fingers. It flowed like water through them. Nick would have continued to touch this nothing-can-be-softer hair but she spoke again, softly.
"M-my name is, uh, A-Aria." She was looking up at him with those pleading violet-blue eyes. They were like the last colors at sun set. For a minute Nick didn't get what she said. He just stared at the girl, Aria, for a long time. But under his scrutiny she looked away quickly. Nick didn't like that.
He laughed nervously. "I'm sorry for staring at you, Aria." Her name was sweet on his tongue. He started to wonder what her lips would taste like. His gaze dropping to her mouth, his started to water. Just one little tas-. As soon as the thought came, he shook it off. This girl was frightened enough without a teenager sexually harassing her. Nick froze for a minute. How old was this girl? She looked like a twelve year old, but who could be sure these days. "How old are you?" Nick asked, hoping she look his way again.
"What?" She looked to him again. Those eyes could enthrall an angel. Nick heart started to race.
"You're age?" He said again.
"I'm, uh, n-nineteen." Aria mumbled. Nick was shocked. Whoa, she was a year older than him. Yet she was so small and thin, like she didn't get regular meals. Maybe she was homeless.
"You're parents must be worried about you." Nick took her hand. Her gaze dropped to where their hands met. Again time stopped. Nick would have loved to hold her small hand longer but she pulled away from. A separation irked him but he didn't show it.
"Could you please untie this trap?" She replied softly. She was trying to be cold and distant but was too easy to read for it to work. "I-I can't move. It hurts too. My wings-." She stopped to look at him again, fear evident in her eyes. She was scared of what his reaction would be. The wings looked real enough. They were folded across her body like a blanket. Ash. That's what color they were. He could imagine her flying, her wings spanning the open air. They were glowing now, the shiny surface reflecting the sun rays against Aria's pale skin. She was like a fallen angel in the arms of a mere mortal.
"They're beautiful, your wings." He said. She flinched again. "Can I touch them?" He was half joking. The wings were magnificent, like a protective cradle around her. What would they feel like? He wondered. Rough and brittle? Smooth and silky? Nick wanted to know.
"O-okay." She replied after a long pause.
"Pinkie promise?" He cried with his pinkie finger out to her. Nick was so excited; he didn't realize how childish it was to say that. All his little sister's fault. His face was hot with embarrassment.
"What's a 'pinkie promise', Ichlen?" She was honestly confused, like she had never heard of a pinkie promise. Where was she from?
"It's a childish way to swearing to keep a promise. The two people hook their pinkie fingers," Nick flexed his pinkie finger. "-together and sing some stupid song about keeping a promise till they die. It's stupid really. You don't hav-." Aria hooked her pinkie finger with his.
She looked up to and smiled. "What's the song?"
"Song?" he repeated, a bit dazed by her smile. "What song?"
She giggled. The purest sound to ever be heard by his ears. "The 'pinkie promise' song, Ichlen. I'd like to be untied at some point this year."
"Um, I don't remember." Nick had forgotten his name the second she laughed for him. "I know it has to rhyme."
"Then lets make one up." She thought for a moment. "I got it!" She started to sing
