Malachy's wings fluttered slightly as he walked past the worst forested sections, with trees so thick and close together that he didn't dare fly. Feet, bare and hardened by a constant lack of shoes, slipped across the forest floor, the mountain slopping up all the way. It was a mountain indeed, and soon rocks populated Malachy's rose quartz eyed sight, instead of the forest. And ruins, ruins over took it all in moments.

Those were what he had come to see, the remnants of another fae civilization. People talked of hauntings, so much so that none dared approach. He wanted to boast that he had, and that he had seen what others dared not try to set their eyes upon. It would make for such wonderful conversation. Malachy was sure his friends would love to hear tales of his adventures. What a delight it would be to tell them! He'd be the center of attention for a while at least.

As he climbed and clambered through elegant, sad, ruined buildings with sweeping curved carvings, Malachy felt excitement rise. Then all of a sudden groaning sounds filled his ears. The fae, with hair going from chestnut brown to red at the tips, scrambled down from his perch. He hid under the remains of an archway and wall, huddled up tight and trembling like a leaf, his gold and rose wings shivering along with the rest of him. Golden skinned fingers wrapped around his knees as the fae tried to calm his racing heart. He even went so far as to tug down his dress like tunic, over his soft pants. It helped ease his mind a bit.

The sweet scent of earth mingled with that of dust and old, dead wood and cloth. One day, his people were here, recovering from a dreadful fight to end all fights, and the next... they were dead. He'd left before the awakened disease could kill him, but he hadn't been spared the result of near total extinction. Now, being the last of his kind, Chiro was a mess. His fey kind had once revered the land and the mountain they had built their treetop homes upon, and now, it was all taken over by time. The treetop houses were now choked with dirt and ivy, with branches finding their way between boards and snapping some houses in half. It was like a cemetery. But inside the hollowed mountain, where the most influential lived, it seemed as if little had changed beyond the complete aging of what so many called 'ruins'. His kind might as well have still been taking care of the massive internal city.

He walked. But then, he walked everywhere. His wings were ruined, hanging from his back like thin, aged cloth because he had no one around now to take care of them, and he couldn't reach them. Useless for flying, Chiro had resulted to walking for countless years. Why had he come back? The place was eerie. Sadder than he thought he could ever feel. Without his kind, he was alone, but not quite as alone as these empty, lifeless halls felt. Tattered tapestries hung in a faded, pitiful manner, their trees and flowers nearly bleached with time. In the distance he could hear a groaning, wooden beams shifting in their old age in an almost lively expression of just how desolate everything had become. Wide, tall hallways shifted left and right and his bare feet padded lightly through the frontmost hallways, rooms, until he eventually found one with a pile of bedclothes and leaves in the corner, beneath an old wooden frame that had fallen long ago with sheer age.

The light now came from some old orbs rolling about on the ground when he stepped around them. Even now, their magic hadn't faded, and still shown a golden-yellow glow through the room. His thin body sat on the bed, then his eternally-tired sapphire eyes closed. He thought he heard himself mimic the groaning of the tired beams as he curled his body into a small ball, resting one of his tattered wings around his bare torso as a makeshift cover. It seemed... cold. Cold, despite the summery weather outside the mountainous city. Why had he come back...? He could almost feel the souls of the other fey around him, as if they couldn't rest.

Curiosity pushed him from his hiding spot. Nothing had come for him. Malachy stretched, healthy limbs carried him towards the sounds he'd heard, through an underground maze of a ruined city. Soon warmly glowing golden orbs lit his way as the fae wandered about. He became more bold, his steps gaining assurance, as he left behind the tree top remnants entirely. Here within the stone halls and walls, he could hear the groaning and knew it for a person's. Another fae?

Fingers brushed across stone as he worked his way past one room after another until finally coming across a prone form with sorrily tattered wings. Unshod feet slipped across the floor without a sound. Malachy didn't know what had happened to the other fae, but the need to offer his help couldn't be denied. With gentle care, he reached out to press his hand softly against the other fae's shoulder. "Do you live here?" whispered the fae as he pulled back his bracelet clad wrist. Around his neck lay a matching gold chain, and around his ankles as well. It was a wonder he was so quiet as he moved.

His eyes were closed to the area around him. Even if they were open his pitch black hair would have drowned out the sorry place, and his wings would have helped shade them from the watery light of the orbs rolled about on the floor. This used to be his room... So much had happened in the time he'd been away from the abandoned place, however, things were so different. The earthy ground was cracked from lack of care, the ceiling draped with dead vines that made their way in but dried up much like the floor, and for similar reasons. The thought made his eyes water, but he couldn't quite find a reason to get up yet. Maybe later. When he had a nap... He curled up tighter and buried his face.

A hand on his shoulder, placed carefully between an especially large rip in his wing, sat the fae upright immediately with a gasp. It was a burst of color in such a drably-toned environment, like a small patch of wildflowers in the middle of a sunny clearing where everything else was green and brown. Had he been followed? No one ever followed him... He hadn't spoken to another living being in years, mostly to himself so he didn't lose his voice entirely. "Um... I... I used to." Even so, his reply was shaky and whispered, at best. "I came back... because I was curious." He bit his lip, glancing down at his thin pants and willing away the fever-like heat in his face that told him tears were on the verge of being spilt. He curled himself up a bit, though, and made an effort to raise his head. With his hair over his eyes, Chiro didn't need to worry about the feeling. "Why is someone like you here...?" Who would want to spend more than a few minutes in a place that so long ago was possibly the height of civilization itself? Now, reduced to a pile of rubble.

The dead civilization still had one survivor. Malachy wondered if he would be considered a trespasser, and relaxed imperceptibly when things were not so. A curtain of dark hair separated them, hiding the other man's features from sight. Malachy's own delicate features crisped up in thought. "I came here because everyone says this place is haunted and I wanted to boast that I'd taken the chance ..." He had enough decency to blush as he exposed the details, his wings fluttering a bit in distress.

"Would you ... come back with me, to my home?" It wasn't nearly so large as the once great city had been. It was a city yes, but barely that. There was enough trade to make things interesting, and fae enough to occupy even Malachy. Now though, his thoughts were far from what his friends might think. Instead, he focused upon the strange fae with an intense gaze, filed with kindness for all it's strength.

Chiro glanced down. Haunted...? What made them think the place was haunted? Surely the battles fought between his own kind had to be written down in history, but to go so far as to consider the place haunted long, long after absolutely no signs of existence had come from the place was confusing. Perhaps he moaning of the wooden beams in some areas could be enough to send others skittering back home, but they would have to come inside the place to hear them. He brushed his hair back in time to hear the request, like a snap at the ankles by an angry animal when one were to step too near its home. "B-back...? With others...? No..." He stood up, dragging his useless wings with him and stepping around the other fae, kneeling down and picking up one of the glowing orbs.

"No... I can't do that." He shook his head, running a hand over the softly shifting glassy surface of the thing. "I can't... Not... Not with others..." The thought of being around more than just one was... overwhelming. A horrible thought! He hadn't been around so many in... years. He couldn't remember just how many had passed now, but it had to be centuries. More than centuries! He pursed his lips, turning back to the other.

"At least you... you can go back and tell them you've met a spirit..." His voice cracked, and he looked away. Why did he have to be the only one left? To live indefinitely, afraid to die yet sick of existing, would probably be a bit easier with someone of his own kind with him.

He followed the other fae with his eyes, lingered over tattered wings and unkept clothes. He could only imagine what it might have been like, to live when none others survived. It had been a long time since the people living within those walls were supposed to have passed away. So long they had become legend, myth ... Nearer those things then they were to fact and reality.

"I ... could keep you company ... Just for a little while?" Sounding hopeful, the dark haired fae shifted to face the other man. He crawled a bit, shoulder length hair brushing softly against wings and cloth. Malachy sensed that things would need to be taken delicately with the other fae, the recluse, the lone survivor. There was no other way. So he would do his utmost to make the other man comfortable.

And thought Malachy was tempted to ask after the state of the other man's wings, he forced himself instead to say something else. "My name is Malachy." He asked not for another name in return. He would be told when the time was right, he hoped.

Chiro breathed in carefully, glancing upward in a halfhearted attempt to avoid the persistent fae, but he couldn't necessarily escape him. Malachy, so he was introduced as. The offer of company was something he hadn't heard in a long time. So long. Most left him alone, feeling him to be a refugee from some animal attack or dual gone wrong. Or they thought he was just crazy. "I... suppose... I could show you what this place used to be..." He looked back down toward Malachy, and then to the orb in his hand. At his unspoken will it grew brighter. "I... I'd hate for your journey to be wasted." He offered what he hoped to be a faint smile, but it turned out to be more of a grimace than anything closely resembling a smile at all.

He nodded slightly, offering the other fae a chance to go ahead of him. "I can light the way easily enough..." He muttered. "The... the magic..." He breathed in again, but there was a tremor to it. "The magic my kind wielded is... nearly extinct... fallen into myth with the rest of them, but... I still know it all." At his will the orb threw its light to sconces and hanging lights that still retained their positions even after so long. Their fiery glow illuminated the place with a brilliant and yet easy glimmer that chased away the shadows that had plagued the halls for millennium.

A bright smile lit up the fae's eyes at the mention of a tour. "That sounds wonderful! Thank you." He watched with silent wonder as lights began to glow, where before they had been dim. Was it then this strange man who commanded them so? There were none others who remembered the magic to do such things. It was wondrous. Gems all aglow, with creeping vines and forest sounds surrounding them. There were even pretty little flowers, growing over the remains of the dead civilization, decorating the bones of what had once been.

Malachy's eyes grew round as he twirled about elegantly to try and see all he could with wonder. "So beautiful ... I wonder what happened to make this place fall." He stopped in his tracks, and bit his lower lip as he realized how cruel the unthinking words were. The fae's wings drooped at the thought of what damage he could have done. "I'm sorry ... I shouldn't have said such a thing aloud."

The golden skinned man shifted upon his slender boned feet. Bracelets jangled with the nervous movements as a sudden shyness over came him. It wasn't unusual for Malachy, though it might have seemed so when compared to his earlier bright demeanor.

Chiro watched his new companion move about the halls as they traversed deeper into the mountain. Soon enough the sounds of the forests would be muted by the sheer distance away they would be, and only the noise of the abandoned city would remain. The ghosts of the past. But it seemed so lively with Malachy to brighten the place up. His wings were beautiful, bright, well taken care of. Maybe they were more resilient than his own were. His words, though, snapped through the still air like a whip, and stung. What happened to make the place fall... So few now knew. The researchers that took it upon themselves to understand it were long gone now and only their notes, what was written out of pure speculation and what survived of his species' written documentation. All they knew was that a civil war split the two fractions---the powerful and influential and the lower, less influenced.

Now Chiro's long fingers stroked the smooth surface of the orb and his eyes closed halfway in an effort to push away the doom sensation; a feeling eerily similar to what was in his chest when he fled the dying city. "It... doesn't matter." He sighed, folding his wings down. They dragged the floor at this state, but didn't take up much space otherwise. "No one alive now knows what really happened." Except me. He almost said it out loud, but fought the temptation.

"You... didn't mean it... to say it, I mean." Chiro muttered, looking back at Malachy. "And... my name's Chiro, by the way." He stepped forward again, egging the other fae along with him. Up staircases that were only used half the time. Along halls. One in particular was naturally lit with easy blue tones, speaking the element of water. He paused at this one and shone the orb in, letting the glimmering gemstones catch the light and reflect it like sunspot dapples over an ocean.

"No, I didn't .. not at all. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry, Chiro." He followed along, head and wings still hanging low. The crumbling staircases didn't bother him, not for his own sake. Malachy did worry for the other fae. Such tattered wings couldn't possibly fly. Surely .... No, there was no asking about such things. Not from him, someone so newly met. Wings were a delicate subject, and even more so when they were damaged... perhaps beyond repair.

Then the other fae stopped to shine light upon blue stones. It looked so much like water! Malachy gasped and stepped forward. His wings fluttered with excitement as he stepped into the room and ran his fingers over the walls. He'd never seen anything like it. There was beauty in his own city of course, but of a different kind entirely. "Is everywhere in this place like this?"

Chiro managed a faint smile this time. Malachy didn't seem like the others. They would stay about for a while, then decide to ask him about where he came from, what he was doing alone when fae were naturally social creatures and meant to be in groups, families, pairs or villages or cities. Then they asked him about his wings, his dark coloring, why he looked so different. Malachy seemed to be tempering his questions, or at least bottling them up for later dates. His wings rearranged themselves against his back to drag more, as if they were acting as a tattered cloak.

"Each wing or district of the city is dedicated to a specific element of nature." He said softly, leading Malachy into the hall. As they moved, the orb's light reflected more erratically to give the impression of disturbed water. "Here, it's dedicated to water. Those that had mastered magic involving water and ice made their living here, but like the rest of the city it was open for any to travel and live." He paused at a pair of doors, and pushed them into the area. They came out onto a balcony overlooking a city lit by an orb similar to the one Chiro carried, only it was massive and encased in a lapis lazuli and sapphire cage strung from the ceiling. Below, stone and earth buildings rose up from the great chamber and water flowed through fountains, under bridges and down a cascading waterfall from near the top of the cavern's roof, which seemed to be nearly a mile above them.

"This is the water quarter of the city." Chiro said, lifting the orb so it gave its light to the dim orb. It immediately shone brighter, bringing the city's empty streets to a sunny afternoon. "I can't believe the pipes still function after all these years..." His dampening eyes stared around the areas below and took in the way the water moved fluidly, the way it shifted and bordered the main road into other areas of the city.

The city was a place of wonder. Though in ruins, it still held a haunting beauty ... The same kind of quality which exuded from the sad fae who served as Malachy's guide. Pink eyes wide, he stared up at the ceiling as he leaned against the rail. The large stone, it's sudden new glow, they were all a beautiful, breath taking, sight. "What was the wing we were in before dedicated to?" It was a reasonable question, one he hoped wouldn't elicit any sad answers from Chiro. It wasn't like he burst out with his wonderings about the other fae's life, why it was he had chosen to remain in the city.

Chiro lowered the orb when it fed its light to the larger one entirely, and leaned forward against the rail as Malachy did. "That... was one of several entrances." He said after a moment's contemplation. "They aren't dedicated to any specific element or study of that element, but it also serves for beds to those that need one. I took one of the rooms for myself long ago, because..." He fell silent, and breathed in. "Just because..." He nodded to Malachy, and to a set of stairs nearby that led to the ground and the roads below. A huge archway led into this section of the city itself, and out, into the neutral hallways that were lined with tapestries that indicated which section of the city one was headed toward. Small ornate arrows were at the bottom, pointing the way. The tapestries were white now, where they walked. Chiro could still see the arrows at the bottom, gold toned, pointing the directions down the large, spacious hallways.

"Fire and water are kept separate by air." Chiro said as they traveled up a ramp topped by stairs that headed up in a spiral pattern. "Since fire and water naturally don't get along... Those that practiced magic specific to either had to be separate one another by an element that doesn't mind either." The layout was simple, but complex in each specific design. While his kind adored the land and nature, and what made up everything, they loved art as well, and it showed in their complex designs made of stone and earth. Chiro shifted, glancing Malachy's way. "What... is your city like?" His curiosity was apparent, but only because he hadn't asked something quite as personal as that.

There had to be more reason then because. Another question for far later, he supposed. The other fae was antsy, nervous... Chiro had nerves so frayed it was a wonder he still held himself together at all. Pursing his lips slightly in a cute little frown, Malachy followed along. He had hoped his talent would kick in, drawing emotions from the other man so he could help him more then he had been able to before. That was what he did within his city, that was how he helped and gained tokens to trade and barter for the things he needed to survive. He was a healer of the mind, and Chiro sorely needed his aid.
If only he knew how to go about it.

The dark hued fae was a puzzle, with pieces missing that might never be replaced.

*My city? We live in a large meadow, with giant flowers and a castle of crystal. Other races sometimes visit, and they're always so comically shocked by where we live. It is a place of nature, where each fae has work to do to keep things running smoothly. We trade with others and with each other. We prefer a barter system to that of tokens other people's have accepted." His wings fluttered with excitement as he spoke of his home.

"There are other crystal buildings, of course. But none others so impressive as the castle where our council resides." Malachy turned his eyes to the intricate designs of the lost civilization had created. They were so beautiful, entrancing really. "Our designs aren't as intricate as these. More on the lines of elegant simplicity." As he spoke, he ran his fingers over a particularly intricate bit of wall art, dips and curves creating a maze of lines that drew the eye ever inward.

Chiro tried to imagine that. Crystal buildings? A crystal castle? It had to be brilliant in the sunlight, and glowing in the moonlight. What did it look like? He tried to see it in his mind's eye but couldn't picture it, couldn't even begin to. Amazing. It was probably just that, and more. They moved up the circling staircase slowly, the orb lighting their way as the pale tapestries pointed them on. "I could never begin to think about what that looks like." He muttered. "It must be amazing... Beyond words... My kind preferred keeping as close to nature as possible... So that's why we built homes in the trees, or into the earth itself. We relied on a barter system as well, but it was very strict... Hm..." They moved up to a large dome-shaped room that, at the presence of the glowing orb powered by its holder, opened up with a deep rumble under their feet as the walls expanded and the roof lifted, beginning to glow. The air district had been shut down entirely during the illness, when everyone was brought down to the lowest sections to be monitored more easily.

"The air district." Chiro waved the orb, and seemed to throw light to each corner of the room. At one time, buildings floated in the air, held up effortlessly by the magic of those that created them. Now they were crumpled on the floor, crushed streets, but generally intact. In the quiet, as the rumble fell away, one could hear wind whistling into the city to connect those that lived here to their element a bit more strongly. The massive orb that lit this city was encased in an ivory and diamond cage, and the buildings still gleamed in their marble perfection though they were cracked and sad.

"They are made with materials from nature, and are grown from the ground itself by the stone singers." He glanced at his surroundings. "I can see why your people decided to build as they did. Everything is so amazing." Though he had only one other fae with him, it was enough. Distractions abounded, or rather interesting things were everywhere to catch his interest. He wanted to ask about them all as they stepped through halls, up staircases until the buildings lay upon the ground before them at their feet. And high above it all, it was like a giant pearl was suspended, glowing softly with the light Chiro gave it.

"How do you do that, with the light?" It was him, there was no other explanation for the way the lights glowed with a new light after the dark skinned fae passed. He felt tempted to fly. Wanted to feel the exhilarating rush of the wind beneath his wings, but Chiro wouldn't have been able to join him, with those odd tattered wings of his.

Chiro regarded his orb for a moment. While it seemed to glow too brightly to look at without pain, but it dimmed to the eyes when stared at. "I control it." He said simply. He nodded, leading the way forward. The main road led directly to the fire district, alongside two other main hallways that wrapped around the wind district. "The orb feeds on my energy and I control it with a thought or two..." There was nothing to light nearby, however, as they drifted down the main road and directly across the city. Large ivory gates stood around patches of land that used to be full of flowers and grass as play areas for young fae and small animals that often meandered around when the cities were at their peak.

"I wish... we could have remained true to our nature-based roots." Chiro sighed as he gazed up to the sunny orb that lit up the whole of the city. "Maybe none of this would have happened. We got in over our heads..." The air district was so beautiful once. Columns of air spouting up from the ground itself to help raise certain areas, and a large, beautiful tree that once bloomed indefinitely with pale lavender flowers. Now the tree was dead after so long neglected in the darkness. Underfoot, leaves and dried petals crunched.

Spiderweb patterns littered the rubble beneath their feet, the cracked road as the ceiling orb shone through the poor, lifeless tree. It was beyond help now, long dead and no more than brittle, hollow wood that shuddered in the breeze that grew progressively warmer as they approached the end of the street that led into the subchambers separating the wind district from the fire district.

That made sense. Energy drove the world, and ones own energy was by far the easiest to control. As they walked through the desolate remains of the air district, he couldn't help but catch last glimpses of emotions, lingering behind. The desolation of them, the despair, had him trembling like a leaf as it hit him full on. Malachy gasped, brought up a delicate hand to his head and let out a long breath. He closed his eyes and stood still within the embrasure of the doorway leading down where the last district lay. "The past can't be changed..."

He shook it off and began to follow the way down into the warmest part of the city. There were gold inlays in every building, curling around windows. There were sconces, pillars, where flames would once have been lit. Even the flowers were those of warm climates, entirely different from those in different areas of the city.

Chiro froze when he heard a sound of distress. Familiar sound, such a familiar sound, not of pain, not this time. He turned to meet Malachy but his voice was caught in his throat. What could he say? Was he supposed to react? He'd been away from fae for so long that he'd lost his sense of how to react to certain emotional fluctuation, how to reach out. There was a want to, however. A want to make that sound meaningless, but he just didn't know how. But he sighed inwardly when he didn't have to do anything. He simply led on, to the fire district. With his presence fire sprung to life, and cast their glows to the orb much like the other districts. This, however, was encased in gold and copper. Exposed pipes pumped pressurized steam through the districts to power this area of the city, pistons hissing as they were driven, cranks and gears turning beneath their feet. "Fire powers this district." Chiro said forlornly. "It always has."

He turned fully to Malachy, marveling at how the fae shone in the fiery, warm glow. Such a splash of color to the city that still powered itself in certain areas. "On this level there are two elevator alcoves. One leads up, to the light and earth districts, where the most powerful of my kind existed. Below, the last district---dark. Would you like to continue...?" He tilted his head, hoping Malachy, if he wanted to, would want to go down instead of up. He didn't want to go back there, but felt obligated to continue for the sake of the young fae's curiosity.

He could feel the other fae's uncertainty, but had no idea why it was so. The emotions hit him like a hammer. Usually, it was a simple task for him to filter the feelings of others, but not with Chiro. It must have been because the other fae had been alone for so long. Malachy had no other explanation. None that he would dare think about. "Of course I would like to see more." Malachy glanced up, to where earth and light still remained to be seen. He didn't even think of visiting the place below, of darkness. And as firelight flickered across jewels and gold tinged skin, Malachy took a few hesitant steps nearer the other fae.

"Uhm ... could we ... go up?" Light would suit him much better then what lay beneath the earth, so deep that he knew he would feel stifled. "I don't like knowing that there's so much stone hanging over my head."

Sighing, Chiro nodded. He had to expect that. Had to expect it. Malachy shook his head quickly and indicated the left elevator alcove and stepped onto the sturdy stone surface. It bounced only slightly on its tracks. "It'll not fall. Everything here has been created painstakingly... Even after so long abandoned, it's very strong..." He fitted the orb into a slot on a stand in the middle of the lift and cupped both hands over it. The lift shuddered, and began rising. "There we are... I... you could fly up the shaft if you like... If you don't trust the elevator, I mean. And I'll meet you there." There was, after all, only one other archway to exit the shaft. Now they were in relative darkness, but the shining between Chiro's fingers had the immediate area aglow.

The ride was rather stuttery, though. The elevator was rough since so many years in disrepair had clogged the tracks and it was slowly being chipped away to make way for the thing. Chiro shifted his wings slightly, forming them as a cloak over his back. They still pained him, even after so many years. If only he could use them. A flap or two, though, would send dying breaths of breeze throughout the immediate area, but little more. As they approached the earthy district above them, a very pale, dying light emanated down.

Shaking his head quickly, the young fae shifted to stand by Chiro's side. Though the elevator stuttered, hesitated and near stalled more times then he could count, Malachy didn't even contemplate taking flight. He couldn't leave the other man behind. What if something went wrong? Chiro would have no way to escape. "I think I'll wait here." Malachy smiled for Chiro, as he leaned against the elevator wall. The odd contratption frightened him, but there was no need to let the other fae know that... Not when he could tell that Chiro already felt negative as it was. It was a murky kind of sensing now, but that was alright.

While the ride was a slow, unsteady one, it ended soon enough with a shuddering jolt as Chiro took the orb from its pedestal and held it out in front of him. This time light snaked down his arm, over his chest and down, flitting through the ground and vanishing for an instant before exploding into existence far above them, casting shadows over what seemed to be a dead forest. Black leaves hung on hollow trees that towered above them, full of holes. "The earth district." Chiro sighed. The sight of it all... dead... It hurt him. "We would grow these trees to live in. It tuned us into our specific magics. Earth magic is the second strongest form of magic because it can control four types: Earth, water, wind, and fire. They grew the trees in this district because they separated themselves from the populace outside the main six cities. And above is the cloud district..." He looked up, through the crisscrossing branches and dead leaves, the spiderwebs and moss and the fungi that managed to grow in the semi-damp environment. Around the edge of the city staircases led up to a series of doorways that entered into the cloud district.

"There's... just one more, other than the dark district." Chiro pointed toward the series of six double-doors. "If you want to lead the way. The cloud district, I feel, is still brightly lit." It was, after all, where the highest of his kind existed. Where he had lived. Where so few mastered all the magic---fire, earth, wind, water, light, and darkness. It was an inborn gift that not many had, and so it was considered the 'peak' of the city.

The moment they stepped out of the elevator he felt it. A pain in his heart that belonged to someone else throbbed through him. Was there nothing he could do? Not yet, anyway. "It sounds wonderful. Shall we go, then?" With light steps, he slipped across the ground towards the staircase. What lay above that caused such thoughts of hurt in the other man? He wanted to know so he could help him heal.

Perhaps he could figure somethings out as they walked up the stairway. Up towards the cloud district, in the sky. He wanted to see it again. Blue, dark or filtered with thousands of different hues. He couldn't wait. But he had to.