Legacy

Chapter 4- Bronze Bruised

I waited outside the boys locker. Now this may sound weird, but I have no friends of my own, and I feel responsible for Solus. Henry and Jonathan walked out, laughing and high fiving each other.
"What a freak. Did you see his body? He's covered in bruises," Jonathan jeered.
"Not only that, they look bronze. I mean, I knew he was different but BRONZE bruises? How weird can you get?"
As they walked off, I felt oddly protective. At the same time, I felt confused. Bruises?
Solus suddenly walked out, slipping his shirt on. I caught a glimpse of the bruises, but suddenly it was covered. While I was distracted, he bumped into me. I felt myself falling, then almost in a flash Solus grabbed my wrist, stopping me mid air. His hand was warm and soft, and for some reason reminded me of fresh baked bread back at home.
"You ok?" He asked, his eyes currently a red-brown colour to go with the the bland brown of the gym walls.
"y-yeah. Thanks... Solus." His name still felt foreign in my mouth, like from another language. I wouldn't be surprised if it was.
He helped me up without effort, much stronger then he appeared. I felt it in the way he let go of my wrist. He was holding back his magic strength.
No duh, I silently told myself. If he used his magic strength just then, he would crush my wrist like a twig. But something in the back of my mind tickled, trying to get me to notice. I ignored it.
"Thanks again" I smiled awkwardly. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled back.
"As I said before, its nothing"
We went to the rest of the class. The teacher started taking attendance, and stopped at Solus's name.
"Oh, you don't have a last name?" She looked up at Solus.
"My kind uses titles instead of last names" He said 'my kind' like he was surrounded by animals, not his own race. Then again, he basically was.
"ok, well, what's your title?" The teacher raised a eyebrow, curious. Solus shuffled his feet. I understood how he was feeling. The whole class was staring at him, waiting for his response. It seemed personal to him, though I couldn't figure out why. If angels used their titles as last names all the time, why would it be awkward now?
He whispered under his breathe.
"Speak up please"
He looked up and spoke louder, but the words.. they weren't English. Or French. Or anything from this world. The words sounded ancient and powerful, from a race long forgotten. I would have thought it was a spell if what he said wasn't short.
The class was quiet for a few seconds.
"Um.. alright I'll write that down in the attendance book uh.. how do you spell it?" The teacher was hopelessly confused, like the rest of us.
Solus sighed, "Just call me Solus." And that was the end of that.