Just the two of us: Part 4

"Nrrrgggghh..." groaned a quiet voice as one brown eye cracked open slightly to peruse the owner's surroundings.
The room within which he lay was small and somewhat dark, though light enough to be able to see. Sunlight streamed through the paper-thin curtains hanging over a tiny barred window, and bathed the entire room in its murky glow.
The youth sat up and cast a glance around with a frown.
"Where'm I...?" he mumbled, getting to his feet shakily.
He scratched at his feathered head, briefly freaked out that his hat was missing, and pulled up his hood instead. With a sigh he spotted something of interest and raised a brow as he moved forwards.
"Blimey..." he breathed, eying the amount of newspaper clippings stuck to the wall.
Every one of them had information on some sort of dangerous criminal, some even describing the crimes that had been committed.
"Amaury Gray, nineteen," read the youth aloud, dragging a stubby finger down one of the articles. "Has escaped from a scientific insitution an' is considered highly dangerous..."
He moved on to another article, tilting his head.
"Murderer Amaury Gray still loose," The youth frowned, scanning other newspaper clippings. "The Demon Eyed Killer strikes again... Will he ever be caught? Deathtoll reaching five. Demon sighted. Police fail t'capture Amaury Gray. Serial killer still at large..."
Shivering, he stepped back from the wall.
"What kind've person keeps stuff like this?" he asked rhetorically, chewing on his lip.
"The criminal," answered a voice from a dark corner, making him jump out of his skin.
With a startled cry, the youth span on his heel and pressed himself to the wall of newspaper clippings, staring at the figure that he had previously thought was some kind of manakin.
"Y-you!" he stammered, recognising the strange male as the one who he had collided with back on the street. "W-wait... Criminal? You... y'don't mean...?"
He glanced sideways at the articles, his eyes widening as he noticed a small black and white photo accompanying one of the clippings. The hair, the eyes, the scar...
"Oh blimey!" he squeaked, cringing back. "P-p-please don't kill me! P-please! I ain't done nuffin' wrong!"
Amaury Gray stared at the frightened youth for a moment, then tilted his head with a narrowed eye.
"I'm not going to kill you," he said quietly.
"Y-you're not?" chirped the youth, blinking at the strange male before him. "Then... then w-why'd you--"
"Feathers..." interrupted Amaury, stepping forwards. "You have... feathers."
"What?! N-no I don't! Who have y'been talkin' to? It's lies! Rumours! I--"
His frantic denial was interrupted as Amaury held up a hand for quiet.
"I saw them when you bumped into me..." He paused, then pulled up one of his long sleeves. "I... have feathers too."
"Y-y... Y'do?" The brown-eyed male stared at the black and white growths sprouting from Amaury's wrists. "Blimey... I... I thought I was seein' things..."
"That is why I... took you," Amaury said, stepping forwards. "You are... like me. I am... like you."
"I ain't like you!" gasped the little magician, pressing his back to the wall again. "I never killed anyone!"
"Why were you running...?" asked Amaury curiously, watching his frantic guest.
"I... I was bein', uh, chased..." came the reply. "People didn't like my magic..."
"Magic?" asked Amaury, sitting down on a crate to watch his companion.
"Yeah. Card tricks... Well, okay, maybe it was more of... a scam..." The youth scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Amaury considered this for a moment, then peered at the shorter male.
"What is... your name? You... already know mine."
Gulping, his guest picked at his nails and stared at the floor.
"It's, uh... It's-- Promise you won't laugh, okay?" Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "Cyril... Cyril Watson."
"Cyril..." murmured Amaury, watching the youth in a way that made Cyril distinctly nervous. "That is not a good name to tell others..."
"Eheh... T-tell me about it," mumbled Cyril with a gulp, squirming under the gaze of the taller male. "So... um... Scientific Institution?"
"A question for another time," Amaury said firmly. "You need a new name."
"I... I do?" asked Cyril, frowning slightly. "Doesn't that mean you need one too...? I mean, your name's all over the papers!"
Surprise registered in Amaury's eyes for a moment, before he glanced towards the clippings.
"Yes... Yes, you are right..." he answered quietly, musing upon this.
The silence stretched out, until Cyril nervously broke it.
"So... I can... go, right?" he asked, trying to edge away from Amaury.
"No," answered the taller young man bluntly. "You may not leave. We are the same, you and I. Both hunted, both... not entirely... human..."
He paused and eyed his grey fingers, tipped with sharp black nails.
Cyril eyed them too, watching the light glint from the cruel edges and shuddering as he imagined them sinking into his flesh.
Perhaps it'd be better if I played along with the crazy person, he thought to himself anxiously.
"Right... Right. The same. Okay. I'll stay here then... Eheh..." he said aloud, flashing a grin in Amaury's direction as the other moved his head to gaze at him.
"You have the same... eyes..." the dark male mused softly, before turning on his heel.
The short male continued to grin, even as Amaury silently swept away, though the bright smile quickly faded as the other male exited the room and shut the door.
Cyril slid to the ground with fear gleaming in his brown eyes.
"Bloody heck..." he mumbled. "I'm a prisoner to a delusional murderer..."