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Merci walked up outside Twilight Designs and she heaved a heavy sigh, "Dio are you sure you want me to wait outside?" The guardian was feeling a little anxious, she rarely really left him alone all that often since Seraph swiped him. It had almost killed him, and had been very painful for her. She stood uneasily on the sidewalk, her tail swinging back and forth violently, another indicator of her mood.

Dio could tell that his Merci wasn't happy letting him go alone into the shop. The stress was radiating off of her in waves that the little shadow was trying desperately to ignore. He had questions, and he would only feel self conscious if there were more people listening then there absolutely had to be. 'I am sure, and I will be safe with you out here. I trust you.' He put more cheer into the last sentence, hoping that she would just let him do what he came to do. 'With you out here no one could hurt me.'

Merci sighed and nodded a little bit, she stepped to the side and leaned against the wall. In her short leather skirt, knee high leather boots and matching jacket, it wouldn't be a surprise if someone pulled over and asked her how much she was charging. She didn't care honestly what people thought of her, it was how she was comfortable and thats all that mattered.

Dio was relieved when she caved, and he wasted no time phasing through the wall to the shop before she could change her mind. The dim lighting of the shop was a relief to even the overcast day they were having outside, and it made him sigh to himself in relief.

He hovered closer to the counter and peered curiously about for the person he was hoping to speak to.

Dio couldn't help closing his eye and leaning his head into Reyna's hand. He liked her, a lot. 'I was looking for the Athan man, is he here?' His voice was quiet as he looked up at Reyna. His left hand was fiddling with the long sleeve that fell totally over his right hand, 'I, I have some questions I need to ask him.' He was really embarrassed, he hoped she wasn't going to stick around for this little talk. It was bad enough as it was.

Dio nodded and looked toward the back room. He huffed in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He threw Reyna a quick look and quickly thought a 'Thank you very much, Miss Reyna...' before he phased through the wall toward the back room.

The little shadow was nervous, but he swore to himself that he wasn't going to back down, he was determined to talk to someone. Athan was the only person he could think of to ask about all this. After all, Merci said she got him from here.

He peeked around some boxes and called out quietly 'Hello? Mister Athan?'

The little fiend froze and looked around for a moment, having a sudden attack of terror that was completely unfounded. Athan wasn't going to hurt him, he knew that, but for some reason he was worried about doing something that would make him angry. Dio fiddled more with his long sleeve and he floated toward him slowly. 'Mister Athan, I wanted to ask you something. If your busy, I can come back later.'

He held his breath, and watched the man on the couch. This was really important to him, he wanted to know what it was that tugged at him and worried at his mind. Athan just had to know.

Dio moved over and settled next to Athan on the couch, his tail and hair shifting colors only slightly as he settled down. His hair hid half his face, but it didn't do much to hide the fact that he was nervous. His fingers picket at the hem of his long sleeve. 'I want to ask you about me, why I feel..' He paused and tried to look for the words.

How do you explain something you don't understand yourself? He didn't know how to classify his longing, his need, and fascination. Every night he curled up on the roof of Merci's home, and he stared up at the sky.

Finally he started again 'I don't know why when I look at the sky, I feel like there is something more. I just can't figure it all out.' He couldn't keep the frustration out of his tone and it shone in the one burgundy eye that stared up at Athan.

Dio thought about it for a moment. The stars were an endless source of entertainment to him, he could stare at them and the forms of constellations would seem to leap out at him. 'The.. The feelings I get, I feel so..' he couldn't explain. Obviously he was fighting to find the right words. He was smart, he read a lot, but nothing in his vocabulary seemed to fit. 'Lost...' he finally settled on lost.

But even that wasn't all. 'There is more, I feel it when I look up. I feel them up here.' Dio tapped the side of his multi-hued head. 'I don't understand why. Am I the only one like this? What am I looking for? Merci said she got me here, you have to know.' The fiend looked at him with something like defiance.

He just had to know, because if Athan didn't know, then Dio didn't know what more he should do.

The disappointment that there wasn't an easy answer was almost overwhelming. Dio looked down and his voice took on an edge of unhappiness as he replied to Athan 'Yes, I feel them. I close my eyes and I can see the stars. I dream about them...' it was obvious the boy was searching for a way to explain something he didn't fully understand himself, 'being in me, and me in them.

He looked up at Athan and his hair fell to one side, showing both eyes for just a moment. Dio looked lost, and like he was searching for something or someone that could help him feel stable again. 'Merci says they are just dreams, they don't feel like that. She tries, so hard. She got lets me stay on the roof so I can look at them all the time. Merci wants to help me, but I don't know.. what I need help with.'

Dio tilted his head back down and fiddled with the long sleeve of his clothing. 'If.. you think a book can help me, I will read it. I have read all the ones Merci could find for me already.'

He had tried forgetting about the pull he felt, and during the daylight hours it was easier. He played like normal boys do, tortured the medusa, but it was getting harder to ignore. Dio just wanted to understand.

Relief washed over him, Dio had just known that Athan would be able to help him. The frustration of moments ago seemed to disappear and hope took it's place. He stopped fiddling with his sleeve and clasped his hands in his lap. 'Thank you so much. I knew that you would know something. You never told me though, am I the only one like this?'

The little shadow curled his tail up, the shining silver ring through the end of it shone in the dim light. He was finally content with the fact that he would know more soon enough, and maybe the feelings of confusion would melt away. He shifted closer to Athan and rested his head against the man's arm.