“C’mon slowpoke, at this rate we’ll never get to the city!”  “I’m trying, Leo, but don’t you think we might go a little faster if we each carried our OWN instruments?”  “Now Evangel, what kind of talk is that?  Don’t you like helping me and sparing my poor back from harm?  You know I have a weak back.”  “I know, and I didn’t mean it like that, but I guess you’re right, Leo, as always.”  Evangel let out a weak smile and Leo smiled right back at him.  ‘I guess its ok as long as I’m helping’  Evangel thought to himself, the weight of a guitar and a violin both pressing down on his small form.  He was a raven, even though he never truly learned to “fly solo”.  He wore glasses, but he wasn’t sure why, maybe he just liked the style.  He had short black hair with long bangs that hung down in front of one eye.  And his eyes were a pale grey color, only slightly tinted by a hint of green.  He was small, but strong when he had to be, although he pretty much detested violence.  He looked back at Leo ad began to think about how it all began.  They had been together for a long time, and it seemed to them that they had know each other forever.  Their parents were friends, and they lived in the same area when they were growing up.  They had shared many experiences, good and bad, including their first flights.  Evangel remembered that day well.  The teacher was leaving early and wasn’t coming back for a while, so they had to take the lesson together.  Oh what a mess that was.  By the end of the day He had Leo in his arms, and had promised him eternity.  It was the day they first actually found each other.  Of course, once their parents hard about this, they were banished from the flock.  All they had were their instruments and the clothes on their backs, and that’s all they needed.  They were together, and that’s all that mattered to them.  It was perfect.  “Hey, Ev, would ya stop starin at me like that, its startin to creep me out.”  Evangel snapped out of his daze and gave his lover a slight grin.  Leo stopped and poked Evangel in the forehead.  “Now what’s going through that perverted little mind of yours, Ev?”  “Oh, nothing really, just imagining you pink lace undies.”  Leo blushed a deep pinkish hue.  “Yeah, just that color pink,” Evangel laughed as Leo turned quickly and hid his face behind his wing.  “Its still a little way to town, better get going” said Leo, his pace quickening.
One hour later they arrived in New Haven, a bustling metropolis.  They wandered aimlessly through the streets almost in a daze, amazed at the shear intensity that they felt here.  “Its huge…..” said Evangel.  “Yeah,” replied Leo, “and the city is pretty big too…”  This comment was lost in the sounds and cacophony of the big city, and soon they found themselves at the foot of a large black building that seemed to rise far higher than any other.  “Lets set up here” stated Leo.  “This seems like a good place to peddle our craft.”  “Peddle our….what?”  “Ugh, it means do what we do best.”  “OH!  But……I think that’s illegal…”  “Ok, that’s enough of that!” said Leo, his face turning red again.  Evangel laughed.  “I know what you mean, I’m just joking with ya.”  He opened his case and pulled out his violin.  Lifting it to his chin, he pulled the bow slowly across the strings, back and forth, and then back again.  He moved faster and faster until the notes were molded into a musical symphony in itself.  As he played, Leo uncased his guitar, took it in hand, and began to follow his lead.  The music was joyous and gleeful, and soon everyone who passed was stopping to clap along to it, dropping a dollar into the hat before they left.  
By the end of the day they had collected around fifty-two dollars, a very large amount for street performers.  Evangel laid down in the nest they had set up n the tree, staring up into the sky, a dreamful look in his eyes.  Suddenly his view was interrupted by a familiar tanned face.  “Whatcha doin?” asked Leo, startling Evangel to the point that he nearly jumped out of the nest.  “Oh,” he said, repositioning himself comfortably in the nest once again, “I was just thinking.”  “About what?”  “Well…..this might sound silly, but….I kinda miss our home.  I mean, sure, there were some mean people, and it wasn’t the cleanest place in the world, but it was home nonetheless.  And we never had to worry about finding a place to sleep at night either.  We just went home to our nice, cozy beds and slept.  I mean, it wasn’t perfect, but it was nice, you know?”  “Yeah, I think I understand,” replied Leo, slipping his arm around Evangel’s neck, “and there was a lot of stuff that we could do there, and maybe we don’t have everything ;like we did there, but we have each other.  Isn’t that what’s important?”  “Yeah, your right, I think im happier this way.  Leo…..I’m glad you’re here with me.  You make me feel safe……like I belong…Leo, please never leave me.”  “Awww, of course I wont you old softy.  We’re gonna be together forever, and you can quote me on that.”  His lips curled into a soft smile and he kissed his partner tenderly. And they laid there staring at the sky until Evangel fell asleep.  “Evangel…..” whispered Leo softly, “you have no Idea how much I love you.  I’d give my life for you, and no matter what happens, I’ll be with you.”  He peered into the serene blue sky and drifted off to sleep.
Dawn came sooner than expected, cars racing by on the nearby street and people walking hurriedly under the nest.  Leo had taken off to scrounge up some food, and Evangel was charged with guarding the nest while he was gone.  If not, some kid would surely knock it down out of sheer spite.  He sat there, looking blatently out into the street, when someone caught his eye.  I was a wolf pup, not too young though, he appeared to be nearing adulthood.  He had medium length dark brown hair, and his eyes were the most eerie hue of light blue.  His gaze suddenly shot to Evangel, and Evangel noticed something.  It was like he was staring into his soul, like he knew his every thought.  Those eyes……  The wolf suddenly turned again and took off down an ally.  Just as Evangel was about to give chase, Leo hopped up into the nest.  “Going anywhere?”  “Uhh, no, I guess not.”  “Good, cause I brought us some good food.”  He reached into his shoulder bag and produced four apples, a bag of grapes, and some assorted berries.  “Eat up.”  
The meal took Evangels mid off of things, off of the wolf pup, but soon something else distracted him.  The tree began to shake violently under them, ad the pair dropped down to see what was wrong.  There at the base of the tree was a giant of a creature, dressed in a long brown trench coat and a hat with a long brim that covered his face entirely.  Leo spoke first.  “Umm, is there a problem, sir?”  “Yes, there is,” Spoke the mammoth creature, his voice dry and dark, as if it were far away.  “You see, this building you sit in front of belongs to my employer, and he has requested that you evict yourself from this area immediately.  I have also been informed that if you refuse to comply, that I am to remove you by force, and believe me, I have no problem with that at all.”  “Oh, I see….  Well, we cant leave yet, we still need to get a little more money, im sure you understand.  Anyway, if you give us a few hours we could…”  Leo’s sentence was cut short when the massive arm smashed him in the stomach, sending him flying straight back into a wall.  He grabbed Evangel by the throat, pulled him close to his face, and spat “Tell me what you know, you filthy vermin!”  “We don’t know anything” coughed Evangel, and just as he said this Leo put a pipe into the side of the creatures head, knocking the hat off.  The only thing Evangel saw were two piercing black eyes, and then he fainted.
He awoke several hours later, rain pouring all around him.  The first thing that caught his eye was a pool of blood, and feathers scattered everywhere.  He didn’t know what happened after that.  He wandered the streets looking for his partner, but Leo was nowhere to be found.  Finally, after sixteen hours of searching nonstop, he gave up.  ‘Leo is ok, he has to be’ he thought to himself.  ‘He’ll be back…..’  A year passed, and Leo never came back.  Over time, Evangel learned to cope without his mate, and was beginning to make progress in dealing with it.  He established a nest in the same tree, and kept watch for the monster that had taken his love, avoiding him constantly.  Then came the day.  It was around six-thirty in the evening exactly one year after the incident.  Evangel was sitting in his tree, looking up at the sky, when he heard a crashing sound, like the sound of glass shattering.  He looked up to the large black building, and saw that same young wolf from that day so long ago fall through the air, destined to become no more than a spot on the pavement.  Without hesitation, he leaped into the air, spreading his wings and catching the wind.  He flew up to catch the boy, and as he neared him he saw that he was completely unconscious.  He grabbed him quickly, forgetting about the shock of being grabbed in mid fall, and immediately descended to his nest, droppping him into it with the utmost care.  “Please, oh please, don’t be dead, I cant lose another on.  Please don’t be dead.”
Days passed, but the boy didn’t wake.  He was breathing, so he was alive, but he wasn’t at all conscious.  Then, one day, when Evangel came back from gathering food, the wolf was gone.  “Well, I guess he’s ok then…..I just wish I knew his name…”  Little did he know that their futures were intertwined from the day he first looked into his eyes.