Sarah reached out and gingerly touched his back. There on the edge of his shoulder blades the raised nodules were more prominent due to his slenderness.

He shivered.

"Are they sensitive? " She asked him, moving her hand away.

Jareth nodded. "Yes, but not unpleasantly so. You can touch them."

She did, gently caressing the raised areas. "I didn't know it worked this way. I thought you only had them when you were in your other form."

"It depends. Some with the ability to shift retain some aspects of both, some don't. I just happen to. You...truly don't mind?"

"No. I'm fascinated. Would you show me?I'd like to see them. Please?"

He hesitated at first, unsure her reaction. "Alright. You'll need to move back. "

She scooted away and watched. Jareth took a deep breath and with a thought, Sarah gasped in awe as his wings slowly unfurled themselves.

They were primarily white, but wove through the feathers were shades of blue, silver, gray, gold, beige and brown. In the moonlight they shimmered slightly.

She moved closer and reached out, gingerly touching them. They were indescribably soft and the feathers moved through her fingers like fine silk. "They're beautiful, Jareth. I... they take my breath away. "

He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. "Thank you. They're also damned inconvenient sometimes. They need to be preened and combed and keep in good order if I leave them out too much. Much easier to deal with in my owl form let me tell you. The cape in my closet is made from my shed feathers. It's best if they either remain with me or are destroyed so no one can use them against me. "

"I'll help you care for them if you ever need it." Sarah offered.

She moved closer and he lifted one wing, encouraging her to snuggle underneath and next to his warm body, then curling the wing around her protectively.

Sarah wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. "This is nice. I feel safe here." She stroked his feathers and he cooed softly in her ear, her touch comforting and arousing him at the same time. Only true mates could illicit such a response, and she was surely his.

"Good, because you are safe, my love. Always."

~Fin~