unlikely acolyte

the news came as no surprise to the prefects, another student had tried to run off. the fact that they succeeded was more impressive, but it was the fact of who it was that really ticked him off.

francesca.

"for fucks sake," he sighed. his little sister, of all people - she seldom misbehaved, just acted out of the ordinary enough to stick out like a sore thumb. teachers had no reason to keep an eye on her other than curiosity masked as concern, and the way her mind worked both worried and amazed students and staff alike. she did what she wanted, but never something like this. she'd never left the grounds unsupervised before, and it wasn't like she expressed any interest in doing so regardless. but she was missing, and gabriel had a hunch.

a hunch he prayed was incorrect.

no no, he exhaled. it can't possibly be about that.. thing she was researching, right? that's ridiculous. stupid, rash, unnecessary.

ah.

that sounds exactly like his little sister.

the boy took a deep breath, quickly scanning his surroundings one last time before pushing open the window. he was in one of the attic rooms, which led up to a balcony. a makeshift observatory of sorts, old telescope with brass rimmed lenses and a few notepads left astray on the floorboards. he spent more time up here than anywhere else, and it was like a little home away from home. he liked it, especially when fran came to join him.

she'd listen to him talk about constellations and stars for hours, mesmerised by the vastness that decorated the sky over their heads. she'd ask him what's out there - what's really out there, beyond the planets and the stars. if there was anything like us, that thought they were alone in the universe.

angels, perhaps - or her favourite answer, vampires. she really liked vampires. always had her head buried in a book about the various lores whenever she had time to spare. she'd recently started investigating the myth about a stone mask, one that vampires found so precious.

oh. that probably had something to do with it.

he shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. he knew now, sort of. he liked to think he knew, and he probably did. fran was notoriously unpredictable, but he knew her and how she worked at the best of times.

"kingdom of heaven," he breathed. "find a way out."

the bright light appeared as if from his own body, the boy's eyes glazed over as it beamed a bluish white. he had never been sure of what it was supposed to resemble - something neither human nor monster; not an animal, not even a mythological creature like a harpy. this thing had its own look and body, only visible to those with a similar kind of power.
whatever this was, of which he addressed as "kingdom of heaven", changed its shape when being looked at for too long, though, it always kept the wings. he took one fleeting glance at the room, his home away from home (wherever home was; he wasn’t too sure of that himself) and eyes travelled across a discarded mirror in the corner, where he studied himself for no more than a moment in an attempt to ground himself before his head was too far gone.
platinum hair, just like his sister's - it curled and weaved to the top of his neck, soft despite his fractalled features which were sharp to the touch. his eyes had a sense of both pride and exasperation mixing unruly beneath the surface - he was an enigma of emotion, all blissfully calm under years and years of repression.
kingdom of heaven; his guardian angel, shifted by his side, feet never touching the ground. its blinding light bounced off the mirror and into the boy’s eyes, managing a curse under his breath as he whipped his head away, shielding himself from that damn bright light. soon enough, those eerie wings of a bluish light only seen in stars through telescopes and one’s wildest dreams enveloped gabriel, and they were off into the night.