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Marceline "Marcy" Bernard

"What? No Vamps raining from the sky today? Oh, wait, never mind..."

0 · 704 views · located in United States

a character in “Angel....or Mutant?”, as played by Ichigo15

Description

Image
Image



Name: Marceline “Marcy” Bernard

Age: 15 (older than Matt)

Description: Marceline is thin, tall, and blonde, with a height that could have landed her in the ranks of Victoria Secret models. Standing at 5'6 and weighing about 95 pounds, Marce's sports a slim, streamlined muscular body. While a bit underweight, she’s got a body healthy enough for her to fight with, which tends to prove itself useful in stick situations. Her face is slim and slopes in defined lines down to her chin, while her bright green eyes stand out against her face, coupled with her thin, darkly colored eyebrows. Her blonde hair falls in an array of wiry waves around her face, on those rare occasions when she lets it down. Most of the time, it’s tied in a messy bun to keep it out of the way of her face while flying. Marce has a tendency to dress average; jeans and a plain t-shirt usually rock her wardrobe, with the occasional sweater serving as facial protection. Not to mention the fact that she can't "afford" anything better. Stealing from the well endowed seems like a bad idea.

Wing Color: A very soft light yellow, almost like a baby chick, with round white spots dotting it here and there.
The yellow would be reminiscent to this:
Image

Powers: 1) Physical/ Mental shield. Marcy can mentally generate a physical shield around her body and a mental shield for her brain. Here’s the catch. The shield works in coordination with her brain. When the left hemisphere of her brain is predominantly functioning the shield only protects the left hemisphere of her brain. This situation holds true for the right side of her brain as well. The shield, as it projects off of her body, forms a light blue sheen when it’s being used. The shield can be broken by physical means, if one pounds on it enough, and causes Marce an insufferable headache which lasts for about a minute, at which point she is open to attack. For this reason, she rarely uses it in battle, except in dire situations. For those with mental powers, such as mind reading, Marcy’s thoughts and emotions (when using the shield) come to them in broken, vague, images, and they must fill in the blanks themselves.

2) Marceline can fly at extraordinary speeds, traveling great distances in relatively short amount of time. She can’t quite defy light, but it does cut down time when she’s in a rush in the sky. The speed itself is an amazing pulse of enjoyment for her. This power progresses to breaking the speed of sound. She's is unaware if she can yet defy light, though, as mentioned earlier, she can't do it at the moment.

Personality: Marcy’s a leader type of girl. She’s not afraid to take the helm of the ship, sometime to the displeasure of others in her presence. However, she does a good job of it, and should be credited with being the most cracked up leader type girl in the world. She doesn’t do things the Average way. When you’re with Marce, and you’re in trouble, you can almost always count on the girl to jump into the fight, fearless as ever, instead of turn tail and run. She, like her brother, can be a bit of a sarcastic wit, but there’s a catch. Marcy’s a well balanced girl, and comes as close to normal as mutants do. She knows how and when to act appropriately, and serves as a great caretaker to younger, or less experienced, mutants. Her motto is to try not to leave anyone behind, and she’ll fight till she can’t fight anymore if it means saving someone she’s close too. She doesn’t like to butt heads with others, but if she sees something going downhill quickly, she will intervene.

Bio: Marce has the same story as Matt. Both twins have been placed within the Walls of the Ward for all their life, with no indication of having outside relations. The original Ward he was held in had been in New York, where he and his sister had been presumably born. At age thirteen both were transferred to Arizona, where they've been living a way too hot for comfort life. She has no idea who her parents are, and while she wishes she did know them, is afraid of the truth she might have to face: Maybe her parents didn’t want her. Putting all of that as far back in her head as she can, Marce has tried to be a strong, take charge, type of gal, in order to protect her brother, and make him feel like he doesn’t need to protect her. This resulted in a scuffle with Masters that, in the end, gave the two their freedom.

So begins...

Marceline "Marcy" Bernard's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Euro Character Portrait: Matthew "Matt" Bernard Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Samuel Echtin Character Portrait: Marcus
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Euro


“The hospital seems like the best answer,” Great! So Taylor was on board. I nodded to her encouragingly. Power in numbers. Now all that was left was


"Yeah I'll travel with you guys... Are you guys sure about the hospital? I mean... would doctors even know how we work? Honestly a vet would probably know more knowledge about a wing... And a hospital is a very, very public place... I'm just not so sure...But if you're certain it's best I'll follow..."

I frowned, feeling shame begin to fill up my system. Samuel was right. Besides the whole “we’re-screwing-ourselves-over-by-going-to-a-hospital” thing, it’s not like the doctors would have any idea how the girl, or for that matter, any of us worked. I mean, carrying her to the vet still gave us the chance to get our asses busted by the Ward or some other government facility, but hey, at least she’d survive. Hopefully. And here’s where I got stuck.

The hospital was a huge, open public facility, with freaky, annoying doctors, and obvious tattletales who’d have us busted with the government the instant we got there. I knew that for sure. That’s how ruthless intellectuals worked.

The local veterinarian on the other hand was generally concerned with dogs and cats. Ever wonder why there are stand alone Avian vets just dedicated to the health of birds? Never fear here’s your answer; as the majorities of pets consist of dogs and cats, people are bias to learning about cats and dogs. Even horses pass their lists. But guinea pigs, rats, birds, lizards, and many other “minority” pets fall into a different category. You’d need an animal hospital for that, and trust me when I say a vet’s clinic does not constitute the words animal hospital.

“That’s a good idea, Sam,” I was banking on the idea that he didn’t mind me calling him that, “But Avian vets and regular vets are two very different things.” I said softly, “If we
.assume that just any vet will be able to handle her, we could be playing with fire. Not to mention the fact that a vet may not have what it takes to make a human blood transfusion. If I know anything about doctors, I know they’re intellectuals, kind of like lower level scientists. They’ll save her, if only to study her later on. We can almost bet on the fact that they’ll call up an Avian specialist to assist them if they have too
.” I trailed off.

God, the girl was going to be hanging by a thread by the time we got there. She twitched in Matthew’s arms for a second, before going still again. I could hear her breathing steadily, which was a good sign, but the occasional twists of pain were a cause for concern.

“Can we hurry up with the decision making?” Matthew scowled, panicked concern scrawled across his face, “She’s going to go into a coma by the time you guys get moving.”

I rolled my eyes, but accepted his harsh words. He was simply concerned about his sister’s well being, and probably wasn’t thinking straight. Without a second thought, I slipped over to the closest car, a decent looking Honda Civic, probably of a generation older than 2012. I had one of two options:
1) Use some sort of pin to unlock the front door of the car
or
2) smash the window open.

Seeing as there was no pin, I went with option two. Using my shoe, I made a hole just big enough for my hand to fit through without scraping myself. The alarm, of course, was going crazy, and I had to work fast to unlock the door and rewire the underneath of the steering wheel so that the car would shut up. This had been me and Solo’s life when we’d first escaped. And while I was no pro, I most definitely knew what I was doing.

Which brought up another problem.

A very pressing, very heartbreaking, very traitor like problem.

I had to ditch those kids as soon as the girl was safe. Staying with them
.was dragging me and Solo back to a life of misery. I would explain it to them. Explain why I was leaving. But for now, my concern was getting her safely to the hospital.

As the engine roared to life under the working of my hands I began barking orders. Unaccustomed to being in charge, my commands sounded more like solid requests rather than orders.

“Sam, you get in the front,” always safer to have someone besides yourself looking out for stuff in the front seat, “Taylor and Matthew you get in the back
.Matthew support your sister’s weight. Try to keep her in an upright position so that the blood doesn’t flow faster towards her upper area and head..” Eyeing her blood soaked sweater, I came up with another quick idea, hoping Taylor would go along with it, “Taylor take her sweater and press it against the wound with enough force to slow the bleeding
”

Matthew, upon hearing my command, quickly slipped the bloody sweater off from his sister, revealing a simply black t-shirt, much less stained. He offered the sweater to Taylor with a pleading look on his face, and I hoped she would accept the job. The reason I’d chose her over Sam or Matt? Simple. She was a woman.

As I finished my tirade of commands, I slipped into the driver’s seat, patiently waiting for them to join me in the car.

Alice


I stared at the monitor indifferently as was my habitual response to anything that flickered on and off the hazy screen. I had been, naturally out of my own curiosity, observing the bird children, learning from their movements, but not necessarily understanding their interactions. The “Eins” as daddy referred to her was deathly frightened of everything, including her savior the “Marcus” who had rescued her from the clutches of a pair or so of Daddy’s Vampires. I couldn’t understand her, couldn’t understand her fear. If she’d been the stepping stone to the blossoming of my life, how was she so different from me?

If I had been there, I would have killed the Vampires and enslaved the boy.

It only made sense. One with such power should not wield it lightly. One with power must flaunt said power. One with power must become the dominant one.

That’s why I was Daddy’s heiress.

I was the powerful one.

“Alice,” Daddy’s voice was filled with kindness; fake kindness, but it was the only type I knew of. I wasn’t sure if to react brightly, or if to simply saunter over to him. In an attempt to please him, I skipped over to him as an average six year old would. Seeing as I was in the body of a six year old, I could only hope it would work. He ignored me.

Hope. Ha, what a joke.

Arriving by his spinning chair, I put a delicate hand on top of his. The chair seemed to float, as I could not make out what lifted it, and I assumed it worked on some sort of intensely concentrated vaporizing system. I could smell the water in the air, after all.

“Yes Daddy,” That was a default response. It was the obedience Daddy wanted, and it was the obedience he got.

“You’ll be leaving for Arizona today,” he said quietly, grazing his eyes over the gruesome scene one of our bird children had, had. She looked very similar to me, at least similar to me when I was an adolescent, but much more beat up with a grisly set of claw marks on the side of her wing, courtesy the Vampires.

I wasn’t sure if to call her a “poor thing” or if to think she deserved it. I wasn’t sure how Daddy wanted me to react.

“Yes, Daddy,” I said. What else was I suppose to say? What else did people say? He went on as though I’d asked a question about what I was to do once there,

“I may have a few Vampires waiting for you. They will guide you through the steps of integrating yourself into the human world.” My hear skipped a beat (I think that’s the expression).

Daddy was going to let me be with the humans. Daddy was setting me free on the world.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Euro Character Portrait: Matthew "Matt" Bernard Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: Samuel Echtin Character Portrait: Taylor Rice
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#, as written by TheFlag
Samuel


"That's a good idea, Sam," Samuel nodded at Euro's response before slowly lowering his gaze towards the ground listening vaguely as Euro continued, “But Avian vets and regular vets are two very different things.” Samuel winced, before he nodded calmly: it seemed he didn't know as much about the world as he thought, but then again he had lived a ridiculously sheltered life so he couldn't blame himself, although he still felt like an idiot for not taking that into account.

Samuel's eyes drifted upwards as he began to focus more on Euro's words, "If we
.assume that just any vet will be able to handle her, we could be playing with fire. Not to mention the fact that a vet may not have what it takes to make a human blood transfusion." Samuel winced again, this time he looked a lot more distressed. That was a very good point: one that he should have been taken into consideration. But he assumed that Matthew had the same blood type as his sister, after all they were brother and sister but he wasn't exactly certain. Samuel lowered his head once again, in thought. The hospital would surely attract attention, but he admitted that it was probably the best bet for the girl.

"If I know anything about doctors, I know they’re intellectuals, kind of like lower level scientists." Samuel muttered mostly to himself, "Perfect..." he used the word loosely and most certainly sarcastically, he had grown a certain dislike to Scientists due to his personal experiences with them: which were mostly them experimenting on him "They’ll save her, if only to study her later on. We can almost bet on the fact that they’ll call up an Avian specialist to assist them if they have too
.” Samuel nodded satisfied with Euro's response, as Euro trailed off he watched the others follow for a few seconds before lagging behind them.

As Samuel stopped behind the group he heard Matthew scowl “Can we hurry up with the decision making?” Samuel came to an abrupt halt behind the group, “She’s going to go into a coma by the time you guys get moving.” Samuel craned his neck around, before he blinked calmly waiting for the next course of action. Samuel watched as Euro dashed over to the nearest car where he swiftly followed, Samuel ran his eye down the car before noting "It looks very... small in there." Although Samuel had never rode in a car before he felt a instinctive dislike to them, probably due to the noise.

Samuel watched curiously, watching as Euro used his shoe to smash the cars window. Samuel jumped as a loud sound emanated from the car, it continued as Euro swiftly unlocked the door and pushed himself underneath the steering wheel, rewiring several wires. The alarm suddenly stopped and the engine of the vehicle roared to life, Samuel muttered half-heartedly "Looks like we're in business after all."
The victory over the car was short lived, as Euro began barking orders, however they sounded more lighter than usual orders, like a request if anything else.

“Sam, you get in the front,” Samuel nodded carefully, before looking helplessly over at Taylor and Matthew wanting in someway to provide help “Taylor and Matthew you get in the back
.Matthew support your sister’s weight. Try to keep her in an upright position so that the blood doesn’t flow faster towards her upper area and head..” Samuel nodded reassured about Euro's decision “Taylor take her sweater and press it against the wound with enough force to slow the bleeding
” Samuel stood still watching Matthew pull of his sister's bloody sweater revealing a black top in much better condition, Matthew handed it to Taylor.

Samuel turned around not wanting to look at the scene any longer. Samuel headed towards the car's front door and slipped into one of front seats next to Euro, he left the door open for a few seconds before tiredly shutting it behind him. Samuel rested his head against the glass morosely, before he glanced outside the window at the scenery, everything seemed to serene too quiet he couldn't describe it, it was foreign to him and felt strange. Samuel heard the door open, and looked backwards noticing Taylor slipping into the back seat, he waved casually before casually before looking forward towards the window again.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Euro Character Portrait: Matthew "Matt" Bernard Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: Samuel Echtin Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Taylor Rice
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Euro


Awkward didn’t even begin to cover the atmosphere in the car. I wondered, out of sheer curiosity, if any of them were feeling claustrophobic. I knew what it was like, coming from the Ward, and then getting freedom. Everything with plausible amounts of space was welcoming. Everything with barely any space was terrifying. Hopefully, these kids were tougher than that.

As I’d requested, Sam had taken a seat next to me up front, while the rest of the kids had piled in the back. Taylor had slipped into the backseat with an awkward look on her face, and in an attempt to reassure her, I said, “You did a great job Taylor. So long as she isn’t bleeding as much as before, we’ve got more time.”

I wasn’t going to lie. It was crowded in here. The addition of our wings, all of various widths and lengths were another thing to take into consideration. If I’d just let my wings out loose enough, I’d be touching the tip of Sam’s shoulder. Therefore, I kept them plastered tightly against my back. I was uncomfortable having anyone but Solo touch my wings. Years of countless experiments and pain had made me impossibly frightened of situations with the involvement of someone besides me or Solo touching my wings.

My hands were firm on the steering wheel; while I had no driver’s license, I’d had plenty of practice in my early days of escape.

Something had been bothering me, pricking the back of my mind constantly, since we’d started driving.

“Kids,” I said, sighing, “There’s no way they aren’t going to call the FBI out on you guys
just
be careful
”

Well, I’d totally chickened out of what I was originally going to say. I’d been mustering up the courage to tell them I’d be ditching them after the girl was safely checked in but
I couldn’t do that. No one knows that way an adult knows the feeling of looking a kid in the eye and shamelessly telling them that you wouldn’t be there with them. I mean, personally, before this, I’d never done something like that. But I’d seen it plenty of times in movies.

I sighed again, focusing on the road ahead of me. I could already see the peak of the hospital’s roof, and was quickly beginning to feel the familiar anxiety build up within me.

“We’re nearly there, guys.”

Matthew


I stared at the careful wrap that Taylor’d made out of Marce’s blood soaked sweater. It seemed to be holding up, something I was thankful for. In a car with three guys, a woman was always useful. My mouth twisted at my own sexist joke, before I turned my face down to look at Marce. She looked so beat up. Her hair, which was usually already messily tied up, was clearly and obviously knotted now. Poor kid. She’s have a total drama session trying to untangle it when she woke up.

“We’re nearly there, guys.” Euro’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

Ew, the hospital. The second most dreaded place on my list of most dreaded places. I knew the moment we arrived we’d be hit with the scent of heavy chemicals. I’m not sure how to describe what the drive was like. Long, boring, antagonizing, irritating, upsetting
I could go on but I won’t.

I just knew the moment we arrived, I wanted to turn tail and run. We hadn’t reached the transparent set of double doors yet, and I was already able to smell the high, disgusting, fear inducing scent of disinfectant, hear the various conversations of random people talking about their relatives, or friends, or acquaintances, and the conditions they were in.

A few of them gave me peculiar looks. In order to hide Marce’s wing, I’d stuffed it under my own sweater. It looked like I was a pregnant man, walking with his accident ridden sister to get treated for insanity. Jeez.

I couldn’t help but notice that Euro’d donned his hood, and was pointedly looking down. Away from the cameras I guessed. We didn’t really know anything about Euro. Heck, we didn’t know anything about each other. But hey, we’re all the same peas in one pod. How bad could we be?

Everything went by in a flash. You’d think there’d be more detail to what we did, but really it was simple. Marce was in critical condition, and from the moment she arrived, she was sent into emergency. The rest of us were guided to the waiting room, save Euro who was called upon several times, by several nurses to speak with the doctor taking care of Marce. I could only guess why (cue sarcasm). I was called in once; for a blood transfusion. By the time I arrived back in the waiting room everything was fuzzy, and I was feeling gosh darn tired.

Plopping myself down on a soft, plush like chair, I tried to deliver a report to Taylor and Sam, “She’s doin all right. Doctor says ‘s gonna be a few weeks before she can return to normal health.”

Weeks in our case probably translated to days.

I was quite for a moment, before a few other questions struck my mind, “Where are you guys from, by the way? I mean, a Ward I would guess, but you guys got any specific directions on you? Any places you were supposed to be heading? Any plans of your own
?”

As hazy as I was, I was still tense. Everything was so
disgusting, and uncomfortable here. I could never fathom how a normal humans, patients included, could stand to be here, much less sleep here.

As I questioned them, I completely overlooked one very important detail: Euro had disappeared.

Marceline


”Hello?” I called out. No one replied. It was dark where I was. And we all know how well birds do in the dark. You know, unless I’d been my brother, or had owl blood (hoot, hoot).

My lips pursed as I blindly felt my way through wherever I was. The things I touched. They felt like prickly bushes and thorns, and I silently prayed for me to regain my sight. Everything was so dark. Everything was so lonely.

And there was a pain. An indescribable pain piercing my left wing.

I wandered for while. Nothing but silence. The wandering seemed to last forever.

And that’s when I heard them. Or rather, I knew they were coming with no other more specific forewarning. Sharp, snapping teeth, glistening white in the dark, with outspread wings, bigger and more agile than mine. They followed me through what I now assumed to be trees, dipping and diving and cackling like maniacs. I couldn’t achieve flight here. My wings, they were too thick to properly snap out in the crowd of the bushes and trees.

Instead I ran towards it. A beautiful light that split the forest in half. And when I arrived there, when I arrived at that entrance, I found the most beautiful thing in existence. A wide, outstretched field of healthy green grass, with the clear blue sky as its overseer.

Knowing this was my chance, I snapped my wings out
I snapped
my wings


Where were my wings? The hung limp by my side. I couldn’t feel them. And they were coming. All of a sudden things were going faster. I just kept running and running, and trying and trying, but my wings refused to budge.

And then they descended on me. They hissed and jabbed me with electric sticks, sending me to the ground. And when finally I was subdued, one took a long silver knife out from its pocket, covering my eyes with one grisly, smelly hand.

And all I could feel was the sharp, protruding pain of that knife cutting into my wings.


Alice


"How may I be of service, sir?" The “Michael” had arrived. He was calm and collected when he slipped into our room, quickly assessing the presence of all who was there. I felt him glance over me once, but I couldn’t be sure of it.

My father seemed to be having an icy stare down with the Vampire.

“Mike,” he said innocently, hidden venom dripping from every word, “How good to see one of my most successful Vampires again. I have a special job for you, lad. I want you to take care of this here girl. Alice, stand up,”

Gunther commanded me with the same terrifying disposition he had used earlier, and I immediately snapped out of my seat.

“You,” he said, once again addressing Michael, “Will take care of her and teach her the way of human beings. Make sure she successfully integrates herself into the human populace. And if you can do so, we’ll see about further promotions within the Ward.”

My father smiled in a way that could only be described as “evilly” before cutting off the video chat.

I turned to Mike. Not a word was uttered around the table, and for a while I simply assessed my new caretaker.

Sighing (who knew I was capable of it) I said in a monotonous voice, “You were assigned to “babysit” me as father has thought of it on so many occasions. So I will listen to you, and understand from you the ways of people.”

Once again the room was silent. A coughing Vampire, the same one who’d contacted Mike, spoke up, “Maybe you should take her somewhere, Mike.” He suggested, “Get started on the whole teaching her to be normal thing. Gunther’s kept her locked up for most of her life. She doesn’t know anything.”

“No to mention,” A female scientist intervened, “she’s only a year or so.”

“A year and six months,” I corrected. While I deterred to show it, I was actually seething on the inside. If hate is the right emotion, then, I hated it when they spoke of me as though I wasn’t there. As though I was just come pawn on a chessboard.

Standing stoically still, I patiently awaited Mike’s response. Surely he would think up some activity to keep me entertained.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Matthew "Matt" Bernard Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: Samuel Echtin Character Portrait: Taylor Rice
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#, as written by TheFlag
Samuel


Samuel noticed that even though the car had started moving, he still felt uncomfortable. It was probably due to the awkward silence which had descended upon the car, that along with how cramped it was inside, their wings really didn't help in a situation like this.

Samuel already hated small spaces, a dislike he developed due to the Ward's methods, and the car was definitely not his favorite way to travel: as the noise and space available was very off-putting for him, as his instincts told him that something making that much noise is obviously bad and wants to cause him harm in somrway. Samuel summarized that he'd be able to get over his fear with time, as time heals everything, well mostly everything. Samuel could only hope that he'd grow used to the noise as well as the space available in time. Samuel fidgeted before tucking his wings tighter against his back, and sighing looking outside the widow at the road ahead as the car sped on.

“Kids,” Euro's voice interrupted the awkward silence, “There’s no way they aren't going to call the FBI out on you guys
just
be careful
" Samuel's head drooped before he continued to morosely stare out of the window, "Perfect..." Samuel muttered dryly his voice had an obvious sarcastic and distasteful tone. Samuel didn't even know what the FBI was, all that Samuel could assume was that it was bad, and that he shouldn't want to encounter them, Samuel guessed he'd be extra careful at the hospital, and if he did suspect a confrontation then he'd at least be prepared. Samuel sighed knowing that some sort of confrontation at the hospital would probably be inevitable, he could just feel it in his bones all he could do was hope that he was wrong.

Samuel's eyes slowly began to droop as began finding it harder to focus, he leaned again the window his eyes fluttered closed as he drifted into a light sleep. Samuel slept often like this, his sleeping patterns were erratic thanks to the Ward, he could never get into a routine about it, and when he actually wanted to get to sleep he found he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried or how tired he was. “We’re nearly there, guys.” Euro's voice jolted Samuel awake, and he moaned tiredly before gazing out the window at the building forming in the distance.

Samuel moaned with relief as he got out the car, he instantly stretched followed by flapping his wings a few times to stop them aching, as Samuel turned to focus on the massive building ahead he gulped before shuddering at the sight. As Samuel lagged behind the group they approached the transparent doors, he could already smell the familiar scent of disinfectant and other chemicals in the air all reminded him of the Ward. As they entered everything seemed to speed up, the girl was in dire need of help and was taken off to emergency while the rest of the group were shoved into the waiting rooms. On the way through the hospital, Samuel noticed most people giving him strange looks, but then again he did have wings, so it was expected he guessed.

As Samuel sat down on one of the chairs, he began to try and pass the time by playing idle games which were to be honest fairly boring and eventually he just sat back bored. Samuel also noticed Euro had been summoned several times, along with Matthew who had been summoned in total: once, he guessed the Doctor's assumed Euro was a parental guardian or something like that, as for Matthew well he was related to the girl, probably a blood transfusion, or explaining her condition.

Samuel watched as Matthew walked over to a soft, plush chair, before collapsing into it “She’s doin all right. Doctor says ‘s gonna be a few weeks before she can return to normal health.” Matthew explained, Samuel in response nodded at least it was good news that the girl was going to be fine he supposed. Samuel looked towards his chair, before shifting into a more comfortable position, his head laid back and his arm on both rests he stifled a yawn.

Matthew was silent for a moment before asking “Where are you guys from, by the way? I mean, a Ward I would guess, but you guys got any specific directions on you? Any places you were supposed to be heading? Any plans of your own
?” Samuel turned to hear Taylor answer with a bland "No." she then cleared her throat, Samuel turned before answering "I think I came from..." he paused trying to focus, until the word clicked into place "Arizona. As for plans, I haven't really had time to formulate one." Samuel laughed edgily, before hearing Taylor ask "Where's Euro?" Samuel turned to see Taylor, he eyes wide, Samuel paused before looking around curiously.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Euro Character Portrait: Matthew "Matt" Bernard Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: Samuel Echtin Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Taylor Rice
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Matthew (@TheFlag and NTNO; you guys should try continuing the conversation in your own ways, asking other questions, etc. I feel as though my character overshadows yours just a bit too much, and I don’t want that :( )


I awaited their answers patiently. Taylor responded with a prompt no, clearing her throat in the process. For a moment, I wondered how long the two of them had escaped from the Ward. Had they unknowingly come from the same Ward and accidently met up? Or had they been together the whole time?

“I think I came from..." Sam began, pausing for a moment as he seemed to organize his thoughts "Arizona. As for plans, I haven't really had time to formulate one."

I nodded, prying apart my lips to inform them on my own situation. For a moment, my eyes flashed brightly as I remembered the crumpled up piece of paper stuffed in Marce’s sweater. Jeez. There was no way that thing had survived the blood showers in one piece, as cruel as it sounded to joke about my sister’s condition. I’d just have to hope that it was at least legible.

Just then Taylor seem to grasp onto something I had been completely and utterly oblivious too.

“Where’s Euro?”

Where was Euro? A better question would be, how long had we been here? Certainly long enough for them to have patched up my sister. We’d been sitting here for what seemed like hours.

“I don’t know,” I answered dumbfounded, just as a nurse sauntered over to us.

“Is your name Matthew?” she asked politely, a small yellow, sticky note looking piece of paper in her hand. I nodded, still too shocked with Euro’s disappearance to find words.

“Well,” she said, hesitating, “Amazingly, your sister,”

“Marceline,” I filled in automatically.

“Marceline,” she corrected herself, “Is in stable condition. Her wound seemed to, well, miraculously speed up in the healing condition. However, you all can’t see her just yet.”

I nodded. The nurse and doctors would never understand just how advanced us bird kids were. Speedy healing was a part of the package.

“Also, the young man who dropped you off left this note for you.”

I took the note from her dainty hand, unfolding it to read the insides.

“I’m sorry. I have a family. We’ll meet again someday. I’m really sorry kids. Oh and I’m human.” I read aloud. The words were scrawled on the paper as though he’d rushed them down. My lips pursed. I felt both betrayed and yet at the same time, responsible to keep Euro a secret.

I could only assume so many things: First and foremost, Euro was a young guy. Family probably meant a wife, or something, and a baby. I couldn’t jeopardize his life like that.

“He’s human,” I repeated the word human, emphasizing on it, and hoping to convey to Taylor and Sam the idea that we couldn’t let it slip up that Euro was one of us. We could be putting his family in danger. I mean, I hoped he wasn’t lying to us. He’d helped us, why would he be lying?

I slumped down in my chair, disappointed and tired. Tired but not necessarily sleepy. I didn’t know what to say, and honestly hoped that Taylor or Sam would change the subject somehow. This was just
too devastating.

Alice


I remained emotionless. Perhaps a normal person would have arched their eyebrows, but I knew of no such thing as plainly expressed emotions. Or rather, I preferred to keep what I was feeling to me, only if the reason was because I didn’t really understand what it meant to express myself. Slowly, by the indication of the female scientist, I lifted myself to my feet following Mike’s lead.

He seemed
intelligent
or at least I had to assume so. Something already felt different about him, different to the way other Vampire’s acted. He seemed careful, and controlled. He also seemed to have recognized me as soon as the scientist had uttered my age.

That in itself proved how well known I was amongst the Ward intelligence. Anyone with power in the Ward knew about me. Which meant if my father trusted Michael to take care of me, trusted Michael to know about me, Michael must have had a rather high ranking amongst the Vampires.

I followed him through the hallways, uncomfortable with the looks that the majority of scientist threw my way, praising my form as though I was some kind of prize animal. I heavily disliked it. You may wonder why I didn’t use the word hate. I once heard that hate means you must have once loved quite a bit. I get the impression that many don’t believe, but I do. And so, for now, I shall try to avoid the word “hate”.

“Tell me,” I said in a monotonous voice, directed at Mike, “What is it you do here at the Ward? What is it we’re going to do?”

Marceline


Do surgery on my wing, will you?

My lips pursed as the doctor tersely touched the edge of my formerly ripped wing, reveling in it’s presence.

“Are you done masturbating to my wing yet?” I asked casually, implied venom subtly dripping from every word. Taken aback, he snapped his hand away, pale freckled face running bright with blood.

“Sorry,” he stuttered, already seeming to grasp for an excuse.

“I don’t want hear.” I cut him off, before he could continue. “Where’s my
family
” I said carefully, referring to all of them (Matt, and the new kids, Taylor and Samuel ) as my collective family. It was safer that way, if the doctor thought we all had connections to one another.

“They’re outside. They can’t see you yet,” He murmured, quickly beginning to dismiss himself, “I’m sorry miss, but you’ll just have to stay here. Good night.”

He rushed out of the door flicking the lights off. Asshole.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead, and flexing my fixed wing. It was beginning to feel much better, but the ache in my head was worsening.

Euro had driven us here. He’d helped the doctors patch me up. But he’d never once said he was a bird kid as well. All I remember hearing of his hushed conversation with the doctor was that he’d been strolling along when he’d found us. He explained his bird knowledge by saying he worked in a pet shop with a section dedicated to parrots and parakeets. All his excuses would have sound like lies coming from a kids mouth, but he was an adult.

Then, when everything had been over, he’d come and spoken with me.

”Sorry, but what’s your name?” he looked down at me sheepishly, and I almost melted under the light brown eyes begging for forgiveness. I’d never in my life met a guy who was able to that. Then again, there’s always firsts.

“Marceline
.thanks.”

“No prob Marceline,” he twined his fingers, glancing the other way then back. His words spilled out of his mouth like a rushed waterfall, “I have to leave you Marceline. I have a family, a pregnant wife, a special baby on the way
”

Special. Winged, he meant.

I nodded. “Thanks Euro
you gotta do what you gotta do.”

He nodded back in agreement, looking genuinely sorry. “I’ll leave a note for the kids. We’ll meet again someday.”


And just like that he was gone.

I frowned. The rest of the kids would be devastated when they found out. I was.

Flapping my wing, I tested it out on the curtain, which abruptly began flowing with the motion of wind I was producing.

I couldn’t handle being in here. It smelled disgusting, and felt cramped. Slowly, I slid out of the hospital bed, grabbing my jeans and my shirt. My regular, blood soaked sweater was now dyed with dark, almost black spots of dried blood. Against the dark purple background of the sweater, the blood looked like an out of place design.

Oh well.

I slipped it over my head, glad for the fact that blood doesn’t smell. I’d ditch it some other place.

Prying open the window, I did one of the things I knew how to do best. I jumped.

Spreading my wings out, I let a sliver of wind catch me, before pumping myself higher in the sky. I winced as my wing ached a slight bit before subsiding.

My headache was already beginning to disappear. The fresh (or as fresh as polluted air can get) air was a welcome change to the disinfectant scent of the stinky hospital.

I can’t tell you how long I flew. The trip back to the area where I’d been, by air, was about fifteen minutes, tops. It didn’t take long before I got to a shopping district, grinning as I looked down at the ant-like people still out and about. Which, to me, was not many. They wouldn’t be able to make my shape out against the pitch black darkness of the night sky. To them, normal people who’d never seen a bird kid, I would have looked like some giant bird. To a bird kid, I would have been recognizable.

For a second, my eyes blurred, and I snapped my head forward.

Oh no. Once again they blurred, and I felt myself tilting to the left. My left wing had given out.

In a matter of seconds I was spiraling downwards. In a desperate attempt to adjust my direction, I tilted my body, and remaining wing, aiming for a rather desolate alley near an already closed store.

When I was close enough to the ground of the alley, I spread my right wing out, slowing my speed, but still toppling me into the ground. At least it didn’t hurt as much.

But let me tell you. It still hurt.

“Ow,” I scowled, tightening, my wings against my back. My right neatly tucked itself into my sweater, but after a determined effort, my left simply plastered itself awkwardly up against my back, too stiff and painful to fully fold into my sweater. Jeez, what a mess I had gotten into.

“Stupid,” I reprimanded myself, refusing to blame my wing (yes I treat my wings just like any child would treat their teddy bear; like a real person
I wish I had a teddy bear.) The walk back was probably a good hour.

“What’s wrong with you Marce?” I sighed, pulling myself to my feet and dusting my jeans off.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins
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It felt like it had been silent for a long time, though it'd only been a couple minutes. When I finally heard Eins say something, it was so unexpected that I jumped and glanced around warily. I turned again to face Eins, quietly considering her new (okay, used and kind of worn) clothes.

My guesses seemed to be more or less close to her size and I smirked inwardly. The T-shirt was a little too big, hanging a few inches below the equally oversized jacket, though that wasn't a big deal, and it was better that the jacket was larger. Hopefully it wouldn't be a problem when it came to flying.

"Perfect," I said, nodding in approval. I could only assume that tearing I heard earlier was her making holes for her wings through the back of the shirt.

"Just to be safe, you should probably keep your hood up for now," I suggested mildly. "It's not unusual for people to dye their hair different colors from what I've heard, but it still draws attention."

When she held out the jumpsuit and asked what she should do with it, I stared at it thoughtfully. "I'd love to burn it, but that would be a bad idea. No matches or lighters to burn it with, either. This'll have to do..."

I took the jumpsuit from her, balled it up, and walked over to the dumpster. Doing my best not to touch the contents or the bin itself, I stuffed the wad of cloth behind a trashbag with a grimace. There was a moldy, soggy sandwhich melted across the top of the trashbags. Disgusting.

"Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way... we can finally get the heck out of here," I announced with a half smile, half smirk, suddenly in a better mood. We were one step closer to being out of the Ward's reach.

Life really loves to prove me wrong.

As I stepped out of the alley, I instinctively scanned the area. And froze. Something large, dark, and human-shaped temporarily blocked out the stars, and then the thing went hurtling past, moving faster than I could possibly think or observe. It disappeared behind or between the buildings nearby.

Vampire! my mind screamed at me as my heart began to pound with adrenaline, my breathing quickening. I just knew it was the Vampire I'd knocked out; we'd wasted too much time with those stupid clothes and now we would pay the price. The Vampire had probably brought reinforcements!

I panicked.

I broke into a run and headed in the general direction I'd seen the Vampire go, without even pausing to inform Eins. I had a vague idea that I'd corner the Vampire and force him to tell me who he'd brought with him and how they were planning to ambush us. A poorly thought out idea with a lot of holes in it, but I was too busy worrying about having a heart attack (right before the Ward captured and tortured me, of course) to reconsider my plan of action.

It felt like hours passed as I ran, but I knew it could only have been seconds, certainly less than a minute. I'd passed several alleys and turned a couple corners, refusing to stop and think, my eyes frantically shifting in search of dark humanoid shapes with glistening wings. Every shadow that leapt at me was an enemy.

I almost passed the Vampire before I realized what I'd seen and skidded to a halt at the mouth of the alley, nerves wrapped in a tight painful bundle. In hindsight, probably not a good idea. The Vampire was there, standing in the shadows, probably giving orders to his friends.

I tensed, prepared to do... well, something. Attack? Probably. Like I said, panic. But then the Vampire spoke, and that threw me off for several reasons.

"What's wrong with you Marce?"

One, last time I checked, Marce was a girl's name. Two, last time I checked, the Vampire I'd attacked and knocked out was male. Before I could begin to jump to conclusions about why this might be, details penetrated my panic clouded mind.

The figure had been dark, but the wings had been pale. Feathery. Even in the darkness, I could see that this "Vampire" also had pale wings, one of which seemed a little... off. It wasn't folded properly. The "Vampire" was also wearing normal, slightly dirty clothes and had no claws.

The "Vampire" was not a Vampire. It -she- was another bird kid. Another escapee. Someone else who would appreciate this situation and the evil that was the ward. Safety in numbers. Elation jolted through me, but I shook my head, forcing it away.

She could be a spy. No, screw that. I was not going to go through that again. And it was hard to be suspicious of her... she was like me, wings and all. Not that Eins was bad... but she was different. That sort of thinking was probably wrong, but these weren't thoughts or feelings I could ignore or change. Besides, the paranoia would probably drop in later to say hi, it hated to miss crashing a party.

I realized I'd been standing there like an idiot for a least ten seconds. Finally I found words.

"You escaped from the Ward. Just like me and Eins." I said, a little disbelievingly, and also a little out of breath. What were the odds? I felt my lips form a subtle half-smile against my will. Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness again, they were drawn once again to her wings, especially to the one that was a little off. I also noticed that she was cute. Not that I should be thinking stupid thoughts like that, at a time like this.

"Your wing isn't broken, is it?" I asked, surprised at how calm I sounded. I halfway expected to be attacked, or confronted with suspicion... same way I had acted towards Eins. But this was different. Not everyone was as paranoid as me.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus
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"Perfect." The reply brought me some measure of relief, as evidently this outfit, unlike my last wardrobe, would be satisfactory to my new master and to the job of blending into society I would have to do. I gave a slight smile beneath the concealing, oversized collar of my new jacket, glad to see that I had met with his standards at last. It was a comforting thought to know that I could, after all, earn Marcus' approval, even though most of my attempts to follow his commands were rather unsuccessful, to say the least.

But, the calm that came with this response did not last long. As Marcus took a step forward, he froze for a moment, and I could clearly hear the breath stop in his throat for a split second. A second later, it picked up again with renewed force, and he took off abruptly without so much as a word of directions. For a moment, I was conflicted. Was I supposed to follow him, or should I wait here? What was it that had startled him so much? Why hadn't he given me any orders? I couldn't be sure of the course of action that was least likely to result in my further chastisement without knowing what it was that my master wanted, but how could I do that when his thoughts were clouded by fear and excitement and he hadn't given me a word of direction? But, at that moment, an answer came to me. Orders or no orders, something had scared him. And, if something could manage to scare Marcus, then it would surely be a much graver threat to myself. Here, by my self in the dark, there was one thing I knew for sure: with or without my master's will, I did not want to be left alone.

In an instant, I took off after him, nearly tripping over several objects that might or might not have actually existed as I rushed frantically behind my master, trying to catch up to him despite his considerable speed and my own clumsiness. I was slow enough on the ground to begin with without counting my lack of experience at running and the stumbles and falls that caused, while my master was nimble and quick. It took my utmost effort to catch up to him, especially once I realized that those few people on the streets at this late hour were staring at us - staring at me - as they passed. The fear I felt at having their eyes on me was mitigated only by the reassurance provided by the knowledge that my face was hidden by my hood. Even still, I almost became so panicked as to run away and give up on following Marcus.

Despite my difficulty pursuing him, I did not cry out for him to wait, or protest being left behind. Whatever was happening, this was his will, and I would not jeopardize it by valuing my own opinions over his. Whatever it was he was doing, I had faith that he knew, and so simply followed quietly, doing my best to keep up despite the many stumbles and the occasional fall I took along the way.

And then, as suddenly as our flight had begun, it ended as Marcus abruptly stopped at the mouth of another alleyway, gazing intently in at something I couldn't initially make out until I managed to get closer, running up behind Marcus as I finally caught up. Standing before us was a being of a stature greater than my own - as most were - whose wings I noticed almost the instant I set eyes on her. By the look of things, we had found another avian-based "Angel" type mutant, which explained why Marcus had run off, at least. But, although it appeared that all Angel mutants were allies of each other - at least, Marcus treated it that way - I couldn't help but feel - perhaps Jude's sudden attack on myself had something to do with that - that I wasn't included in that alliance. Considering Marcus' reluctance to take me and the beating I had been dealt by Jude, it seemed to me that the Angels would only keep me around so long as I was useful, and even then, that I was suspect and inferior to them. As it was, I could at best be called Marcus' servant, and now that he had found another potential ally, I was quite afraid that I might no longer be worth protecting to him. If I had to reveal my ability to track other Mutants - and, by extension, the true nature of my powers - I had a feeling that I might be considered both equally useful and dangerous, which would, while preserving my safety, hardly improve my situation. Thus, I stayed nervously behind Marcus, clinging gently to his arm and peering fearfully over his shoulder as though it was the girl in the alley that I wanted to be protected from rather than my guardian's own betterment, and the subsequent abandonment I so dreaded.

"You escaped from the Ward, just like me and Eins... Your wing isn't broken, is it?" My master said. I simply waited, and watched.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus
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Marceline


As I straightened my back out, stretching in the process, I became aware of the skid of footsteps, the muted company that had joined me in my shadowed alley.

Turning on my heels, I cautiously faced my uninvited guests.

Who in turn surprised me on their own.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the alley (assisted by the shine of the moon that penetrated the entranceway of said alley) I was able to deduce faces, features that told me I wasn’t about to be randomly jumped by a Vampire.

A thin boy stood before me, with tousled black hair that framed his face nicely, and a set of dark eyes. I took the time to notice the fact that he seemed to be a cute kid, about my age, and that he wasn’t alone. Beside him another, much smaller indiscernible figure, shielded by a hood, cowered into his side, and I could only assume I had frightened the shit out of them. I mean, how often is it that you see a random girl falling out of the sky?

I’m going to go with not very often.

They definitely weren’t Vampires. Or at least I thought so. The girl was too small and frightened, and the boy was equally too streamlined to express the bulk that most Vampires sported.

"You escaped from the Ward. Just like me and Eins." The boy asked, sounding winded, but throwing everything into perspective with that one question. If he had recognized me as a Ward escapee, if he had recognized my wings, my best deduction was that both of them had wings too.

Isn’t logic amazing?

I bit down on my lip as I tried to fit more puzzle pieces together. It’d been a little over a month since me and Matthew had busted out of there. We’d had plenty of traveling experience during our lifetime of being transferred from Ward to Ward, and were aware of the fact that there were others out there like us. But since then, it seemed like our number of escapees had increased considerably. And it seemed as though many of them had been shielded from the fact that there were others out there, just like themselves.

Was the Ward purposefully letting us go? Was this just some game to see which of us would die first? Or were we really fighting our way through the scientists and Vampires towards freedom?

Arizona itself seemed to be a hotspot for Ward facilities. Soon enough I was going to stop being surprised by the mutants that seemed to pop up everywhere.

I broke out of my thoughts for a second to see the boy throwing me half a smile, kind of stuck in between awe and caution, as if he was still processing the fact that I was real.

"Your wing isn't broken, is it?" he asked, seeming to already have spotted my floppy, struggling left wing.

In an attempt to seem friendly, I responded with a lopsided, kind of sheepish smile, “Yeah I'm from the Ward. I escaped a little over a month ago.” I said slowly, “And my wing...It’s pretty much gone right about now. Can’t really move it, though it pains like hell.”

I attempted to sound casual. While I couldn’t asses the girl’s feeling, seeing as I couldn’t see her face, I had a feeling that the boy was glad with the present situation. I couldn’t blame him. What a relief it was to understand that there were others out there just like you. If I had been in his place, I would have been the same way.

This was just like a serious relationship. I had to take it slow, be careful with what I was saying. Matthew wasn’t here to help break the ice, and so it was up to me to make sure everything went smoothly between myself and our new set of mutants. The fact that the boy seemed so calm was a great assistance. It wouldn’t have helped if he had tried flogging me right there and then.

I needed to get them on my side before they decided to turn tail and leave me helpless.

“I was in the hospital,” I began explaining quickly, “Me and a few others had been attacked by Vampires. I ended up getting pretty beat up, and we ended up having to resort to the hospital. They fixed me up, but being me,” I sighed at that point, “I went out for a flight and ended up crash landing.”

I smiled again, just as sheepish as before, “And so here I am, broken up in the middle of Arizona. I’m Marceline, by the way,” I said holding out a now much cleaner hand for him to shake (this is the only point in my life where I will ever say this; thank God hospitals are sanitary).

Setting

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Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins
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"Yeah I'm from the Ward. I escaped a little over a month ago."

I don't know why I was so relieved to hear that, since I'd already guessed as much. I really needed to get a grip on myself before I started worshipping every avian mutant I came across.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a small movement and knew it was Eins. I was glad she'd caught up with me, I hadn't meant to leave her behind, but panic doesn't exactly let you pick and choose what you're going to do.

I hardly jumped when she latched onto my arm, probably afraid I was going to take off again. I didn't blame her.

The girl began to explain her situation and I felt another leap of excitement when she mentioned "others". I stomped it down, beginning to feel annoyed. I had to get a grip on myself.

"We got attacked by a couple Vampires too, but we got rid of them pretty easily. Lucky us." I inwardly grimaced at that bit of an understatement. That second Vampire had meant business.

When she stuck out her hand I hesitated only briefly before shaking it, fighting the urge to laugh at the image. Three mutants on the run, shaking hands like civilized people in a dark, dank alley. Nothing weird about that at all.

"Marcus," I introduced myself with another half smile, then glanced briefly at Eins. I figured she would be too shy to say anything. "And Eins," I added.

And now, the problem. How would we get Marceline back to the hospital? And once we did, would we be allowed to join her and the others, or would she expect us to go our separate ways?

"So, Marceline... we need to get you back to the hospital," I said slowly, and a bit tentatively. "How far away is it?" I went over our options in my mind, which really only boiled down to two. Walking was obviously one of them, and the first thing that popped into my mind... I put it on the back burner for now. What about flying?

A brief image of me and Eins towing her through the sky flashed through my mind... but no, Eins was already unsteady in the air. That was a recipe for a disaster. Maybe I could carry her myself? I wasn't sure, I'd never tried before. But I was pretty sure she would hate that idea. She seemed like the strong independent type.

"I guess walking is an option... but flying would be better. If I helped, do you think you could fly with one wing?" I asked. It seemed an awkward solution, one wrong move and we could both go down. On the other hand, three wings should be enough to keep us both up. Assuming she even wanted to take that option.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Matthew "Matt" Bernard Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Samuel Echtin Character Portrait: Marcus Character Portrait: Alice
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Marceline

I waved casually to Eins as Marcus introduced both himself and his companion.

"So, Marceline... we need to get you back to the hospital. How far away is it? I guess walking is an option... but flying would be better. If I helped, do you think you could fly with one wing?"

I’d just been about to tell Marcus the distance of the hospital, when he made his suggestion to put it in mild terms.

I frowned feeling my pride stiffen every friendly muscle I’d just had.

God, I could imagine it now. We’d look like an awkward giant-three-winged bird toddling through the air. It was so embarrassingly laughable that I couldn’t even bare to look at it in a humorous light. Or maybe that was just my pride speaking. Biting my lower lip, I deliberated for a moment, allowing Marcus and Eins to be covered in a blanket of silence.

Let’s see. Walking would save me all the shameful feelings of not being able to carry myself on my own two wings. On the other hand, in my ever increasing bad condition (being made worse by my rebellious nature) I was bound to tire myself out before we’d reached half-way there. And the whole trip would probably end up taking, about, two hours. Far too long. My brother and the rest of them would find that I’d snuck out of bed already.

Which left flying. In my condition, flying with Marcus’s assistance would give us about twenty minutes to make it back to the hospital. Enough time for the kids to find out about me being gone, but also enough time for me to get back without giving any of them heart attacks.

It was at a time like this that I wished Euro hadn’t decided to pick up and leave us. Damn that boy
.man for having other things to do. With his herculean strength (or his car stealing skills) we may have slid out of this one at a much faster rate.

But no, I was left with other bird kids who were similarly malnourished to me, and just as clueless as I was about stealing cars.

Wonderful.

I wasn’t going to lie to them though.

“I don’t like this idea
.but it’ll have to do. There’s no way we can make it back in time on foot
so to the air away
.”

I spread my good wing, holding out my arm for Marcus to grab onto. My pride was bending my will into all sorts of impossible positions, and I could only imagine my conscience wreathing under my decision. What can I say? I liked being independent.

Motioning to the length of the alley with my other, not outstretched, arm, I said, “The alley should be long enough to give us an adequate running start.”

After all, with the two of us bumbling along, I didn’t think we’d have enough space to just jump into the sky.

“Maybe she should take a head start?” I said, jerking my chin towards Eins. If she was already in the sky, there’d be no worry about leaving anyone behind, and we’d have more space in the alley, rather than just having her go stand behind us, or outside by one of the stores.

Alice

There was so much to learn, so much to comprehend, I thought my mind would overflow with the questions that were pricking the back of my mind. Rubbing my forehead, I tried to make sense of what Mike had said.

I’d seen Vampires attacking the bird kids on the screens back at my father’s lab. But never before had I gotten a good in depth look on either species. What Mike was telling me was so different from what I knew from passing glances at blurry screens (you would think Gunther could afford better).

And McDonalds. The way he’d spoken of it all of sudden made it much more distasteful than I had originally thought.

Pursing my lips, I asked another question, a much more important one, that had been pricking my mind for quite a while.

“Where are we going now?” We were outside. The Arizona air was cool now, chilled by the snug blanket of the night sky. “Any place in particular, or are you just going to stuff me back in the Ward?”

For a moment, I surprised myself by breaking my usually monologues tone. The last words I said came out cracked, with a bitter tone, and I blinked away the strange wet substance known as tears. Father condemned me when I cried, and therefore I knew better than to cry. But he wasn’t here now, and with him gone, there was space in my head for me to think about how I felt. Emotions. Something I didn’t necessarily understand.

“Sorry,” I apologized quickly, going back to my dull, non-threatening tone.


Matthew

“What do we do after this?” Taylor asked, all of sudden concentrating on her swinging feet. I frowned. Good question.

"Well I'd say we get Marceline, and get the hell out of here. The nurse said she was doing alright. I'm sure she'd be alright now, right now we're taking a unnecessary risk." Samuel responded, looking my way and shrugging.

Raising my hands, I quickly made my position clear, “Don’t look at me that way,” I said, chuckling, “I’m not the leader. If there had to be a leader, I would chose Euro, but he left our sorry asses alone
.well, anyway, I agree with Sam. I think we should get Marce, and get out of here. This place gives me the chills.” I shrugged my shoulders, as if I was trying shake of a nasty substance from my back.

I turned my head, searching around for the nurse that had addressed us earlier. My eyes didn’t find her for a while. She was camouflaged in with all of the other, similarly dressed, nurses, and even with my stellar vision, I was forced to pick body apart from body in an attempt to discern her.

When I finally spotted her, I waved my arm timidly, to which she responded by coming over.

“Yes, sweetie.” Aww she talked to me like I was a scared little kid.

“Umm, can you tell us what room Marceline is in?” I said in my most polite teenage voice.

She hesitated for a moment, before saying, “I’m sorry but you and your
.siblings,” I arched my eyebrows in surprise. Marce must have told them we were all related, “Can’t see your sister just yet. You’ll have to wait till the morning.”

Her tone was as friendly as ever, but I had a feeling she knew about our secret. Maybe from Marce’s doctor or something. And I had feeling she was keeping us from seeing Marce because maybe, just maybe, a certain government investigation team was on its way to apprehend us. Which meant they didn’t want us going anywhere. This nurse had, in the span of a minute, become far more creepy and deceptive than I had originally thought.

She smiled at me again, before curtly nodding her head, and disappearing back in the masses of nurses.

Getting up and stretching, I turned back to address Sam and Taylor, “So, who’s up for an adventure. Any ideas on which direction we should head?”

Setting

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Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins
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This was a terrible idea. But there were other mutants. And they'd escaped from the Ward. Safety in numbers.

It was like those old cartoons where there's an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, except my devil was telling me I was going to get myself killed, and my angel was cheerfully chattering away about how nice it was that there were more bird kids out there.

Really, walking was just a bad idea, not to mention a tiring one.

I eyed the alley critically as Marceline gestured, mainly looking for sneaky little rocks or harmless dumpster kittens that one of us could trip over. Because that would hurt. A lot. I kicked a semi-flattened soda can off to the side, wondering if this idea would really work. Plenty of things could go wrong... but really, the hardest part would be actually getting off the ground.

I was about to mention this, but Marceline beat me to it, suggesting that Eins go before us. Pretty good idea, except a tug on my shoulder told me Eins didn't think so.

"What is it?" I asked, in the resigned tone of a person used to complications of life. I frowned and waited as she stammered, realization setting in as I pieced together her broken words. Oh, fantastic. I was quiet for a moment, determined to keep my sarcasm to myself and figure this obstacle out.

I mean. You can't just tell someone how to fly.

"Well..." I began, trying anyway. "Hovering is pretty much flying... kind of." I stopped, exhaled in one long woosh, and tried again. "Look, just get a running start and jump into the air. Your wings will do the rest."

Assuming she had the same instincts I had. Predicting her reaction, I added "Worst case scenario, you get a few feet in the air and then fall. But if you can hover, I don't see that happening."

I stepped away from her, further into the alley, to give her room. I couldn't imagine her not being able to fly... she might not be the best at it. But I was sure she could stay in the air, and I made sure that confidence showed on my face. We'd have to make sure Eins could even fly before we got into the air ourselves, otherwise we'd have to figure out how to land and...

Damn it. How were we going to land? But as I wondered, I could already see that we'd simply separate and drop the last few feet to the ground. Couldn't be that difficult.

Reassured, I turned to Marceline. "I guess we'll go for it right after her?" I asked, inwardly wincing at the awkward take off I was already imagining. I wondered if it would be a good idea to hold onto just her arm. Maybe I should get a good grip on her belt loop or something. But I didn't want to imagine the kind of reaction that suggestion would get, even if it was totally innocent.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Michael
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Alice

I grimaced under Mike’s conditions. They were, by the tone of his voice, absolute. Not that I knew how to fly. I mean come on, I’d been cooped up my entire life in Gunther’s lab. I’d never used my wings. Not being able to explore on my own, though, that one hit a tender spot. Even if Mike was locking me in room 24/7 I still had to stick with him. I was only learning as much as I was allowed to stray. Which meant I had no independency.

"Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I would like to ask you a question. If you choose not to answer, I will not be offended. Do you have any abilities, or powers that I should be aware of?"

At least he was giving me a choice. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t find out later. Somebody give him my files, and one way or another, he’d know everything about me, right down to my genetic make-up. So, might as well tell him now.

I sighed, before being my longwinded explanation. I would try and shorten it as best as I possibly could.

“First and foremost, you should know that I don’t have a pair of ‘parents’. Gunther’s not my real father,” I internally flinched when I said that but continued anyway, “I was born from the DNA of many of the bird kid mutants, including some of the ones you know
looking at it from that point of view, I have many parents.”

I twisted my fingers together as I began listing off my powers, “I have increased intelligence, for my age. It doesn’t mean to say I’m extremely smart. I just understand things quickly, and am smarter than the average child my age. Of course, most one year olds can’t do what I do. I can turn invisible for a small amount of time. It’s kind of like a shimmer, and I’m gone
but you can still hear my heart beat, my breathing etc. if you listen closely enough
.”

I avoided Mike eyes for a second while considering if I should tell him about my last power. Sighing, I gave in. He would know about if I didn’t tell him anyway.

“I can shape shift
but not normal shape-shift
” Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to shimmer down to my much smaller six year old self, “I change the appearance of my age of so it seems.” My voice had risen about an octave with my more childish vocal cords.

Marceline

"Well..." Marcus seemed to be taking a shot at explanations. "Hovering is pretty much flying... kind of." He stopped abruptly, taking one long breath, before trying again. "Look, just get a running start and jump into the air. Your wings will do the rest. Worst case scenario, you get a few feet in the air and then fall. But if you can hover, I don't see that happening."

I sighed. I wondered if Marcus was just frustrated with her, or being a typical guy. I couldn’t tell, since I didn’t really know what the two’s prior relationship was.

I could feel my face softening, melting down to Mother-hen Marceline. I was pretty sure I had multiple-personality disorder, or something. Or maybe that was just me adjusting to the situation, like I’d always done for my brother.

Sighing, I pinched the bride of my nose before stabbing at an explanation of my own.

“Eins,” I said, trying to sound friendly, “Marcus is right. If you can hover, that means you have what it takes to fly. Besides,” I frowned as I stapled words together to form a coherent explanation, “Flying kind of has to do with the wind too. Flapping is to help you get up and stay aloft. The wind is what allows you to glide and stuff. The only time you really ever have to worry is when there’s little wind, which means you have put in some extra flaps
”I sighed. I could understand why Marcus had, had a hard time with this explanation. “You’ll understand what I mean when you get in the air
you’ll feel it, in your wings and body and stuff
Just trust me.” I said the last three words in the friendliest, most trusting tone I could muster up, before falling quiet.

I was never that
maternal
to people outside of Matthew. It was embarrassing. Clearing my throat, cheeks flashing red from embarrassment, I turned to Marcus, “I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Both you and I know that. This is going to sound awkward but...I don’t think you’ll be able to hold me arm or shoulder. I’ll probably end up with a broken arm, or popped out socket
so..I think
you might just have to hold me
like
around the waist
or something
”

That was it. My face was full blown red. I frowned, quickly turning to look at my friend, the wall.

God if there was a time to slap me, it would be now.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus
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"E-errr... It's not that I can't get into the air..." I explained nervously, pressing my fingers together and staring anxiously at the ground, letting my hood slip over my eyes in a futile attempt to hide how embarrassed I was now that the one behind whom I had been hiding had slipped from my grasp and stepped away. "It's just... I don't really know how to move around once I'm off the ground..." A quiet rustling punctuated my statement as I slowly unfolded my wings, being careful not to tear apart the fabric of my rather fragile new shirt as I did so, and slipped them out from beneath my concealing jacket. As the diamond-like appendages emerged into the moonlit alley, they seemed to glisten and shine like pearls, as though they were emitting their own light rather than reflecting the luminescence of the mysterious white satellite in the dark sky above. I didn't realize at the time that Marceline had probably expected avian wings rather than my own batlike pair, and thus didn't even take into consideration the suspicion this would no doubt cause.

I gave them a few flaps - it didn't take me much to get off the ground - and began to hover in the air as a sort of demonstration.

"E-er.... I know you're supposed to lean forward and keep flapping if you want to move, but... I've never really done it before, and... and I might fall..." I explained lamely, gently touching down once more and looking at the two "Angels" for guidance.

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Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins
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Flying 101: Learning To Propel Yourself Through The Air With The Wings God -Excuse Me, The Evil Psycho Scientists- Gave You.

If I couldn't say these things outloud, I could at least say them in my head. In case some people hadn't noticed, I'm actually not a very patient person. We'd been standing in this alley for a while now trying to get our act together so we could finally accomplish something. It was just one obstacle after another.

I'm surprised I've lasted this long without blowing up about something, but I figured it was only a matter of time.

Both you and I know that.

I realized I'd tuned them both out completely and recalled what she'd been saying. Oh, right. Definitely not a walk in the park. I'm sure I looked as relieved as I felt when she mentioned the thing I was inwardly wondering about. Really, it wasn't that big of a deal... but I would rather eat glass for breakfast than piss her off and have her leave me here.

"I... was actually thinking the same thing," I admitted with another half smile. "Just didn't want to say it." And I could tell she was embarassed, so I left it at that, like it wasn't a big deal. Which it shouldn't have been, but somehow it was.

I watched as Eins hovered... obviously she'd at least had practice at that. I tried to stop and think about what I was saying before I said it.

"Eins," I said thoughtfully. "The only way you'd fall is if you just stopped flapping or you aimed yourself at the ground..." I could feel my tone going dry and trailed off. With my luck, she probably would hit the ground and then I'd feel bad. "Okay, just try it and if it looks like you're gonna fall I'll help?"

Maybe we should walk. This was becoming a lot more of a pain than it needed to be.

"Besides, you did fine flying up that building earlier. Don't try to tell me that was just hovering, because it wasn't," I said, a little amused by the whole thing.

I glanced at Marceline. "I knocked a vampire out in a forest not too far from here. Needless to say, I'm kind of in a hurry to get away from here. But maybe we will have to walk after all..." I grimaced at the thought. I really didn't want to do that. For one thing, it was slow. For another... it was slow. And also I wasn't exactly let out for early morning jogs in the Ward and all this action had already made me tired. Which, being manly, I wasn't about to admit.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Michael
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Alice

"Okay, now that you were truthful with me, I will return the favor. The thing is, if I let anything bad happen to you Gunther will kill me. I hope you can understand and forgive me for these rules I've imposed upon you. If you prove capable, then I will make exceptions. The more you learn, the less strict I will be. Plus a few sessions at the fireing range wouldn't hurt either."

I nodded complacently as Mike told me the truth. I knew for a fact that what he was saying was honest. I knew Gunther. He would crush anyone who got in the way of his goals. The Vampires were just another expendable tool that my father used at his own discretion. When he felt they were no longer good, he simply got rid of them.

So, I knew Mike was telling me the truth when he said Gunther would kill him if he were to let anything happen to me.

"I'm not asking you to trust me in any way, but if you ever have a problem, or a question about me for that matter. Feel free to ask it. I won't mandate which form you choose, but I only ask you don't shift in public."

Well, to be quite frank, that was a rather open invitation. My questions still burned in my mouth, but I held my tongue. I had a few things of my own to inform Mike on, things that, in certain respects, made me feel embarrassed. My clothing at the moment hung loosely around my body; of course being for a sixteen year old, they would have never fitted me perfectly. Still, they covered me, overflowing around my body, and giving me a hard time when it came to moving.

Shifting back to my normal form, I said, “You won’t have to worry much about me flying away
I can’t fly. I’m sure you’ll understand when I say, Gunther’s never allowed me out and about much. Also, by his orders, I’m to stay in my sixteen year old form whenever I’m out and about with you, so you won’t have to worry much about me randomly changing back and forth between forms.”

I hesitated for a moment. My ability to speak with others, through my thoughts that is, was a handy thing. While I wasn’t able to mind read, I’d been able to persuade people, or rather trick them, into thinking that I was the one thinking for them. They didn’t understand that their conscience voice and mine were too different ones. It had come in handy in certain situations between me and my father’s personal assistants and scientists.

Taking a deep breath, I continued speaking, “I think I’ll be able to keep my brain in check, and resist using any mind abilities with one exception. Or rather a request. I want you to teach me how to fly. A least give me times of the day, and places where I can go out and practice. Not that I’m planning to, you know, run away or anything.” I tact on the last sentence quickly, hoping to avoid any suspicion from the Vampire.


Marceline

I didn’t expect what I saw when Eins broke out those wings of hers. My shoulders stiffened, and I eyed them carefully. Marcus was either extremely oblivious to what Eins wings looked like, or he knew something I didn’t. I was going to go with the second choice. Because I understood from what he was saying, something about knocking Vampires out, that he wasn’t stupid. He clearly knew what danger was, so why would he be with Eins if she was a Vampire. But she definitely wasn’t one of us.

“Good job, Eins,” I called in a hesitant voice, trying to reinforce Marcus’s thoughtful encouragement. I’d tried to keep the uncertainty out of my voice, but it cracked anyway. I internally reprimanded myself. I didn’t want Eins to be afraid of me. Or did I? I mean, how would I be so sure if she was on our side or not?

Marcus didn’t seem to be bothered by the whole waist thing, and with my new found surprise, the blush from my face began to recede away. I could feel a pulsating pain come from my damaged wing, and I assumed it had something to do with stress. Because I was stressing out. I mean what had I agreed to when I told them about the kids back at the hospital? For all I knew, they were double agents, about to whips out knives and guns on my sorry ass.

Shaking my head, and still looking at Eins, I slowly put an arm around Marcus’s shoulder. I was too scared and unsure to be bothered by the contact anymore.

“We’ll be able to take off,” I said in a far off sounding voice. Then, in a low whisper, out of Eins earshot, I murmured, “Marcus, what is Eins? I mean” I subtly signaled to her wings with a casual flick of my hand, “What are those? On her back. They’re not, you know, wings like ours
” I trailed off, nervously glancing at the girl. My instincts had kicked in, and all of a sudden I was in flight or fight mode. I swallowed quietly, eyes darting to the entranceway of the alley. My only escape. Not that I could fly or anything.

(@ Abridged. I think perhaps you should have them take off in the your post. I don’t mind if you rp Marce’s actions. Then I’ll have her, you know, lead them to the hospital post after that. I don’t want this whole taking off thing to take too long.)

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Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus
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Well, while it was nice to see that they were encouraging me, and that evidently, flying shouldn't be a problem, somehow I didn't really feel any less nervous.

Truth be told, the only way I'd flown earlier was by hovering in the air and then flopping forward slightly before I panicked and righted myself... over and over again. I essentially was simply lurching myself forward, stopping, then lurching again. That was why it had taken me so long to surmount the roof of the building, not mention why it had been so difficult for me to get down again. But... they wanted me to fly, so... I would have to follow their orders. That was the only way.

"O-okay... I'll take off then, and try it..." I murmured, not sounding entirely convinced of the safety of these actions even though I was the one doing them. Still, it was the only choice, so I couldn't complain. I was a servant, which meant that doing something like that was out of the question, as was failing in my duties. They wanted me to fly, so I would have to fly, no matter how scared I was or how many times I fell. I couldn't have them worrying about me, nor could I afford to slow them down by being burdensome. So, slowly, I began flapping my wings again, and bit by bit I rose into the air. Not wanting to be unable to see my surroundings, I swiftly pulled back my hood once I was high enough that my face, and the fear in my eyes, wouldn't likely be seen. I didn't take into account, of course, the fact that my long, white hair immediately came flowing out and trailed behind me as I rose like the tail of a comet. I, myself, didn't realize at the time exactly how strange my hair was. It wasn't just that it was white, which contrasted greatly with my age. No, my hair was even stranger than that. It quite clearly had never greyed nor been bleached it dyed. Rather, it was obvious that my hair was naturally that color. Its hue, unlike what one would expect, was a pure, silvery white, like the light of the moon in reflected, or like the pureness of snow I had never seen. It seemed more like a void of absolute color than a dimming of whatever hue it had originally been, almost as though it was glowing with a light of its own rather than merely shining with the glistening moonbeams that filtered through its soft, straight strands.

A few more flaps, and I cleared the alley, floating upward with a speed I was rather concerned about. Unfortunately, due to my small form, I couldn't help but rise quickly, even given my rather small wingspan and my wings narrowness. Soon, I found myself stabilized somewhat as I floated over the alleyway, gazing down at the city below. For a moment, I couldn't help but shake off my fear and be consumed by awe and wonder. I never had dreamed something like this could exist, even here in the outside world. Vast expanses of masonry, lights gleaming from every surface... people bustling around beneath me, moving with a chaos despite the completely ordered cityscape around them. Each one of those tiny shapes was a living, thinking being... a "Human." I hadn't seen many of them, and couldn't help but wonder at how intricate, and yet how normal they were. This was the life form upon which I was based, a being that did not know the joy of soaring without limit above the clouds, of spreading one's wings and rising through the boundless heavens. Then, it struck me. I didn't know what that kind of freedom was like either. It might have seemed a little conceited, and more than a little foolish, but just this once, I wanted to act for myself... to feel what it was like to be "free."

And so, my curiosity and delight overcoming my fear for an instant, I cut out two flaps from my usual routine, and leaned my body forward, letting myself slowly begin to arc out into empty air, as though stepping off of a vast cliff. Then, forcing my body forward with an inexorable will, I began to flap my wings faster than I ever had before. There was only a mere second or two of acceleration, and then, I was off, rocketing into the vast and unbounded heavens. I streaked like a comet out into endless space, my flowing white hair and glistening wings trailing behind me like a gleaming tail as I eclipsed the moon, then banked to the side, slowing the movements of my right wing as I came about abruptly, my wings' protective covering the only thing protecting their delicate membranes from the strain of the sudden turnabout. Then, I turned my gaze upward, and with my wings beneath me, I continued to rise, my wine red eyes set firmly on the heavens as I spread my arms, aiming to grasp one of those tiny lights that seemed just a little beyond my current reach. As I pierced like an arrow through the clouds, I at last spread both my arms and wings to my sides, letting my momentum carry me as I slowly spun about, my flight beginning to dwindle as I rose on my final wingbeats into the endless heavens.

The world beneath me was white as I stared down from above the clouds, as though I, too, was a star in that unlimited sky, gazing down on the gorgeous world below. My eyes soon took in the entire panorama as I slowly spun, searching out over every inch of the immeasurable canopy beneath me. Then, with my arms spread wide for joy, I did something I had never done before.

I laughed. I laughed loud and long, my voice ringing out forever over the sky even though it did not reach the world below. In that instant, all of my fears were forgotten, for I had achieved what I and many others like me had thought impossible. I was flying at last, soaring through the endless world above the world that I had only dreamed about. I felt, for an instant, that my existence was validated, that I was meant not to serve, but to fly as I was now, from the moment I first took breath to the moment that I at last departed from the earth. If I had died in that instant, I would have done so without any regrets.

But, like all good things, that seemingly eternal moment came to an end. I felt gravity begin to take me, and with my wings no longer flapping to maintain my altitude, I slowly began to fall. For the first few seconds, I didn't do anything to stop myself, so transfixed was I by the new and unimaginable beauty before me. But, moment by moment, the realization came to me that this was a world in which I could not remain. I had enjoyed being a star, and overlooking the Earth, but for now, there were things I yet had to do before I could enjoy this moment forever. I had left my masters on the ground, and it was time I returned to them.

"I'll come back," I whispered to the heavens as my voice was drowned out by the air rushing around me as I once more pierced through the clouds, and began to fall.

Spreading my wings to slow my descent, I gave several powerful flaps until I found myself slowly fluttering downward, like a feather dropped from a height as it sways back and forth, seeming to go down in slow motion. Slowly, tentatively, I finally managed to calm my stressed nerves, and, overcoming my panic, I landed on the roof over the alleyway I had only just left. Gazing downward, I decided to wait here and see when my masters would come up to join me.

That was right... I wasn't born to be a star. I was created to serve, and until I had completed this duty, I would simply have to wait. Still, I had to admit... it seemed like before my eyes still was not this mundane world where one's feet must always touch the ground. Rather, the world I still saw, even after I had left it for the time being, was the unlimited sky.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Matthew "Matt" Bernard Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Samuel Echtin Character Portrait: Marcus Character Portrait: Taylor Rice
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Matthew

I grinned when I heard Samuel say democracy. I like the sound of that. We were working together, rather than having someone be the leader. I hoped that wouldn’t change. So far we were doing a good job without my sister or Euro here to lead us on.

"Always..." Samuel said, nodding in response to my previous question.

“Sure” Taylor responded, shrugging her shoulders. I could understand the look on her face. It was one of those ‘we’ve-got-nothing-else-to-do-so-might-as-well’ looks. Which was understandable. It’s not like we were normal anyway.

"As for the directions, I haven't got a clue. I'm sure we'll figure it out though." Samuel continued, helpfully.

I smiled. His casual response was cluelessly optimistic, which encouraged me not to give up.

Sam’s head turned before he casually sauntered over towards the waiting room’s door, peeking outside. Turning on his heels, he walked back to where we were.

"We could always split up and search the hospital individually." he suggested quietly, "Or... if things get bad enough we could always ask the doctors... politely."

Both Taylor and I snorted at the same time.

“Jinx, you owe me a soda,” I muttered under my breath comically, suppressing a mischievous grin.

“Right...” she said sarcastically in response to Sam’s idea, “I think that could be our last decision”

Putting a finger to her chin, she looked thoughtful.

“Searching the hospital could be a first choice though
Individually...”

That seemed to be our resolve. It was a good a idea anyway. If we were all thinking on the same wavelength, then we all probably thought we’d look way too suspicious running out together, all huddled up, and looking for our “sister”. Not to mention the fact that none of us had a single idea about which direction to head in.

I bit my lip, “I guess we’ll be splitting up then.”

Glancing toward the entrance of the waiting room, I could see the hall conveniently split up into three paths, as though it were meant for the three of us. Left, center, and right.

“I’ll go right,” I declared, eyeing the right hall. I’d just made a split second decision. All the halls looked equally dreary, and I deliberated the idea of splitting up again. Still, if we stuck together, it’d be too obvious. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ward caught us faster that way. After all, we were in a hospital. A hospital, that, by the looks of the hall, was one huge maze. I swallowed noisily and nervously.

Taking a deep breath, I looked back the two of them, before smiling. Sticking my right arm out in the middle of the group, I explained, “We should probably do one of those things where people stick their hands in the center of the group and then raise them,” I shrugged, “It’s corny
but since we are a team now
” I let my thoughts trail off, "We'll meet up back here if anything."

I glanced at the clock. It said 10:15.

"After about an hour. So, like 11?" I questioned, still patiently holding out my hand.

Marceline

"I thought that it was a trap to lure me in, even though the Vampire couldn't have predicted that I would've followed him into the woods. But then she started getting her tail kicked again and I jumped in. And she seemed to think I was going to take her head off next, which didn't help my suspicion any. But she started doing that beaten dog routine and I stopped worrying about it. Well, actively worrying about it. Now every time I express any kind of emotion she acts like I'm going to rip her head off."He rolled his eyes, and I chuckled warily, "I've just kind of decided to keep an eye on her... I'm not sure."

I nodded, complacently taking in the information. At least, from what I understood, Marcus was still keeping an eye on her, unsure of her or not. He was a good guy.

In a matter of seconds, after his explanation, we were taking off. Synchronizing our steps, we took a running start towards the opening of the alley. If felt a little awkward, running so close to him, and I internally sighed in relief when he put some distance between the two of us, allowing us to speed up.

The take off wasn’t so bad. I could hear the heavy flaps of his wings, and I knew he was working extra hard to help stabilize us in the air. I myself was pounding my good wing up and down, hoping it would help him somehow, and feeling extremely sour, bad, and regretful for the situation I’d put him in.

When we were stable enough, he seemed to tilt one wing up, allowing us to flow almost fluently through the air. I grimaced. If Marcus let me go now
.I subconsciously tightened my grip around him, loosening it when I realized how wussy that must have looked.

He glanced behind us, probably scouting out for Eins. Her little display earlier made me grudgingly sure that she could keep up with us. All that complaining for nothing. She’d done just fine. And that, my friends, is what happens when people underestimate themselves. I really need to stop talking to myself


He turned back to me, half smiling, half frowning. This still sucked. I couldn’t move on my own, and was completely dependent upon some boy I’d met not but ten minutes ago to help me. But, in the end, we were still in the air. That was what mattered.

I smiled wryly in response wondering if I was doing the right thing. On the plus side, I’d just added two new members to our cracked up family. On the down side, I had no idea if they were good or bad. I had to make myself believe they were good. They were on the run from the Ward too
but


I sighed shaking my head.

"What now?" He said loudly, speaking over the commotion our wings, coupled with the night wind, were making. I pursed my lips. We’d head to the hospital.

Tilting my good wing, I angled us the in the direction of the hospital, depending on Marcus to straighten us out. As if by instinct, I replayed his earlier motion; glancing backwards, I raised my eyebrows at Eins as if to silently say ‘keeping up?’

“We’re heading towards the hospital,” I said, trying to keep my voice level enough so that I was able to be heard. All of a sudden, I’d found my throat all dried up, and found myself rather tired. I really needed to stop stressing out.

“We’ll go in through the window I left from. After that, I think we’ll search for the rest of them. Then we can get the heck out of there, and somewhere
.better
” It wasn’t necessarily safer, being out on our own. There was always the chance that some Vampire would get us. But it was better than being in a stinky hospital all day.

It took us about twenty minutes to reach the hospital, and sneak back in through my window. It was cold, but I peeled off my sweater anyway, wondering if either Marcus or Eins had realized that the blackish-red splotches on it were really blood marks. Walking around a hospital with blood all over your clothing wasn’t exactly the best way to go, and so I simply wrapped my arms around it. I was unwilling to leave it; it’d kept me warm for almost a month, and God knows when I’d get another one. If I kept it hidden it wasn’t such a big deal.

But my wings. It’d be hard to hide those with the thin black t-shirt I was wearing. Hesitantly, I turned the sweater inside out, so that the fluffy inside was facing outwards. Slipping it back over my head, I smiled dryly at the two of them.

“Wouldn’t want any nurses to see all that blood,” I glanced at the entrance of the room, “Eins you might want pull your hood back up. Normal people don’t have natural white hair.”

I loosened my own hair, before wrapping it up in a tighter bun. “People out there are going to be suspicious. As far as they know, I was in here alone. So we’re going to have to be sneaky.”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus
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The sound of voices and wingbeats beneath me told me that my masters had taken off as well, prompting me to spread my own silvery wings and follow them as they clumsily rose from the alleyway below, like some sort of giant, two-headed bird. I might have laughed at how silly they looked, but it wasn't my place to do or think such things. So, instead, I focused on not messing up and falling to my death as I still worried I might do at any second. They'd gotten a head start, which meant I'd have to catch up to them, or be left behind. And, even though they were flying two on two wings, they were still moving at a pretty decent pace, and already had quite a bit of distance between them and myself.

Gulping down my breath, perhaps as an instinctive method of filling the air sacs located adjacent my lungs, I took two steps, reaching the edge of the building, then leaped off of it, giving a powerful beat of my wings at that same instant. With an almost violent force, I was launched into the air, carried for a moment, then propelled further by the force of my second flap. My initial leap had already carried me into the sort of lunging posture that was apparently appropriate for high speed flight, so now all there was to do was go forward with my full strength! In an instant, my mind was consumed once more by the desire to fly, and to fly as fast as I could. I wanted to be free to roam that unlimited sky, to defy the laws of gravity as I moved ever farther, ever faster into the heavens. At the time, I didn't even notice the strength this desire seemed to give me, and even if I had, I probably wouldn't have thought it anything unusual.

From what I could tell, there were three steps to flying. Firstly was the launch. Through the strength of one's legs, a powerful jump could be used to gain initial momentum, and to carry oneself from the ground without overly straining one's wings. I had picked up this art back in my old concrete world when I had hovered to keep my wings from atrophying. But now, I had found two more steps. The second was the first segment of actual flight. Through several powerful wingbeats, each punctuated by a large intake of breath to replenish my air sacs, I could continuously bounce upward, catching the wind and launching myself like a rocket both straight ahead and into the air. Once I had reached a satisfactory height, the third step was key in maintaining my desired altitude, as well as in gaining speed. You see, while continuous, powerful bursts of energy would keep me aloft, they would also carry me progressively higher and higher until I was finally completely exhausted. At that height, a stall and the subsequent free fall would surely be fatal, with no chance of recovery. So, I reasoned, I would have to keep my speed and height without going beyond my original intentions. In this endeavor, any excess movements would only serve to knock me off course and waste my strength, which meant that the goal for the third stage of flight would have to be maximum efficiency, with each movement flowing into the next: that is to say, continuous wingstrokes that were strong enough to propel me, but subtle enough to keep me at my current level of altitude.

Therefore, as I flew, my wingbeats grew progressively faster and faster while also becoming smaller and smaller. After about ten seconds of flight, I found that I was moving fast enough to cause my eyes to tear up, and mentally made a note to search for some kind of eye protection later. But, for now, I was overjoyed at the prospect of the sudden freedom I had been completely ignorant of until now. This kind of speed, this kind of absolute movement over an endless expanse of space... It was surely what the people minding their own business far, far below me had always dreamed of, and it was something only I could experience. That realization gave me a sense of pride as my wings seemed to stop beating entirely, instead simply oscillating up and down at such a pace as to be like a blur of white light streaming off of my back, a celestial halo that carried me inexorably forward, my speeds continuing to rise with every passing second.

The wind must have given a loud, ear-splitting roar as I abruptly came alongside, then, in the same instant, passed my comrades, for I could see their hair and clothing blown to the side opposite me be the sheer force of my passing, overcoming even the overwhelming pressure of their flight, the wind of which should have been enough to keep these things pinned securely behind them like the silvery hair that trailed out behind me like a mane of light. I gave a joyous laugh as I sped on ahead, blissfully ignorant of the fact that I might have actually been moving fast enough to create a small vacuum beneath their wings in my wake, which would likely have carried them both ahead and downward at a somewhat dangerous speed. Fortunately, I hadn't yet achieved a sufficient speed to make a shock wave of sufficient force to actually destabilize them, so this faux pas ended up being rather harmless in the end. "You were right! It is easy!" I called back to them as I slowly halted my flight by turning my momentum into an upward launch, then looping back overhead to come down beside them, at which point I hovered along on their left in the semi-standing posture to which I was more accustomed, the slow pace of which kept me by their side as we limped our way to our destination.

However, as I flew at speeds that, although I did not know it, I almost certainly should not have been able to achieve, I never turned my gaze backward. Consequently, I never even noticed the faint trail of glittering silver particles left behind me as I flew, nor did I realize that not all of the light emitted by my gleaming metallic wings had been reflected from the moon above them...

A few minutes of flight brought us to the building known as a "hospital." I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but from the moment I entered it, I felt suddenly on edge. The sterile smell of its rooms, the perfectly ordered white cupboards and drawers, the mysterious instruments laid out all around... It seemed, somehow, that it was too clean, or perhaps too methodical. Remembering the many thoughts and pains I had obtained from Jude and the other mutants back in the lab, I immediately shied away from anything and everything that I didn't recognize to be safe - which is to say, the entire contents of the room. All the fears I had felt in the places of my fellow prisoners in the Ward now flooded my mind, as though a chorus of invisible voices was warning me that this place was dangerous. But, I didn't say anything, although I felt my skin grow cold and didn't doubt that I had blanched somewhat since my energetic, enthusiastic smile in the skies a few minutes ago.

I was quickly directed to pull my hood up again, so I did so, letting its warm, comforting folds wrap around my face and restore some of the heat that my inexplicable terror had sapped from me. As I folded my wings beneath my jacket - although I wore it more like a cape - a question occurred to me, however, that caused me enough curiosity to momentarily overcome my fear.

"Err... Why does everyone keep saying that my hair isn't normal?" I asked innocently, my voice sounding curious and just a little bit hurt. I knew that normal people had hair, and I also knew that "white hair" was also a common expression among Humans, so why was my hair so different from theirs? I didn't realize that "white hair" didn't refer to hair so purely and naturally that shade that it could truthfully be said to practically glow with a light of its own.

(Foreshadowing...!)

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Michael
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Marceline

"Because the only people who have natural white hair are old people and mutant escapees, and obviously you're not old. People will notice and remember you... maybe the wrong people."

"Like I said, normal people don't have white hair," I snapped, irritated by the repeated explanations. Some small voice in the back of my head told me it was wrong. Told me I should have given Eins the benefit of the doubt, be more light about it. But I wasn't in the mood to keep up with innocent curiosities when I had more pressing matters on my hands. I had just brought two completely clueless mutant children in a place that I was most certain they didn't want to be. My lips pursed as I warily eyed the door. I wondered if the doctor from earlier was still seething about my "masturbation" accusations. It left me grinning mischievously, almost evilly, and, for the benefit of my two new mutants, I quickly wiped the smirk off my face. At this rate, they were going to start thinking I was insane.

For a while, I deliberated on what to do, while Eins and Marcus stood off idly waiting for, I guess, directions.

"I don't think we could get out without saying we snuck in," Marcus said, breaking the silence, "Maybe... me and Eins should go back out the window and go in from the front. If they would let us in..."

I scrunched my nose, unwilling to leave the two of them alone. Eins had already proved to be more than enough to handle, and I didn't think she and Marcus alone in the hospital would do any good.

"I don't think, if we were normal you'd get in any trouble. But I'm willing to bet whatever I have," If I was wrong there went all my clothes, "That a couple of those nurses have been informed about my present...condition."

Meaning my wings. A sighed, resigned to our plan.

"Here's how things are going to go," I said quickly, trying to give as much information in a little span of time, "We're going to go out there casually. If no one asks us anything, great. But if stuff happens, we're just going to wing it. No doubt the commotion is going to bring the attention of the....family," I smiled wryly as I thought of referring to Matt, Sam, and Taylor as my collective family. If Marcus and Eins stuck around long enough, no doubt they'd become a part of that family too.

"Once we're all together we bust out of here."

I didn't wait for their approval. Assuming they were following me, I carefully opened the door, walking out with caution written all over my face.

A male nurse immediately threw me a grief stricken look, "Miss you're not supposed to leave..."

"My ass!" I said, pushing a hospital cart into his stomach before he could wrap his too big arms around me. He was too fit, too muscular, and way too accurate to be a hospital nurse. I could deduce from this that we were probably surrounded.

"Run!" I screeched last minute dodging the same nurse from before.

(@ Abridged and Tsuk
You guys can probably go into a fighting scene. We'll be up against a few nurses (male and female) who aren't actually nurses, but rather gov't officials. The commotion should bring all the other bird kids, who have split up, to the same point. From there, I'm thinking los government officials will apprehend them and bring them in for questioning.)


Alice

I looked at Mike intently listening to all his directions and observing his take off. I grimaced when he hit the air, flying what looked to be a dozen feet above me and circling my position. My teeth gnashed together. It looked so easy that it was laughable how frightened I was of the actual take off. Him circling me didn't make it any better; I could barely imagine myself getting in the air, much less angling myself enough to go round and round.

But I was determined not the let that deter. Putting on a confident face, I gave myself some space, trying to mimic the amount of the space Mike had given himself. He was taller than me so the space was no doubt more than what I needed to get in the air. My foot steps would not be as striding as his, and so I would be able to pick up speed in a relatively small space. The extra space made me feel comfortable though.

From what I'd seen of the bird kids, they didn't need to run to fly. I figured Mike was teaching me this was because I was just beginning. There was no way I was ready to just snap out my wings and fly from a stationary point.

Taking a deep breath, I snapped out of my standing position, racing forward. When I thought I covered enough ground to give me an adequate amount of speed, I jumped pushing my wings out, and pumping them fiercely in attempt to get in the air. And...it worked!

I smiled triumphantly for moment, before nearly tumbling out of the sky.

"Woah!" I yelped, forgetting about my momentary happiness in favor of trying to stabilize myself. I was not circling anywhere, at least not today. Looking up at Mike, I tried again for the grin. I didn't smile often, and the stretch on my mouth felt good.

"How was that?" I asked, as I waited for him to lead me on further to wherever we were going. All of sudden I was excited. What if I did see bird kids on this night?

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Matthew "Matt" Bernard Character Portrait: Marceline "Marcy" Bernard Character Portrait: "Sariya" Eins Character Portrait: Marcus Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Michael
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Marceline

"Where?!" Marcus retorted sarcastically. Figuratively speaking, his sharp response provoked an equally sharp feeling in my chest.

It was like venom versus venom.

"Anywhere but here," I said, scathingly, pausing just enough to get in a pouting scowl. My own sarcasm burned my tongue; it was natural, for me at least, to act that way. To challenge when I felt I was challenged. And so, I flinched internally, hoping Marcus wouldn't take it badly.

The pseudo nurse was still coming after me, his long, heavy muscled arms outstretched in a threateningly uncomfortable way. Grimacing, I imagined that the incoming grip was a gentle hug, rather than the tight squeeze I knew I would feel in less than a minute. I gasped when his arms wrapped around me, quashing the breath out of my lungs and making my world spin with oxygen deprived dizziness. Ouch. I could feel my wing crushed up against my back; it disturbed me when I realized that my damaged wing had gone limp. I suppose the pain had been a bit much for it to endure.

I was in the air now. I was tall myself, but this guy was taller and stronger. With his height, my toes could barely reach the ground.

"Idiot," I grumbled under my breath, knowing he wouldn't hear me. He grinned down at me condescendingly, and I could feel my rage growing. Writing in his arms, I tried to slip out of his grip. Instead, my foot clipped him in the knee, forcing him to drop me as he doubled over in pain. Good. I hoped his knee would feel pain for a good week or two (you know, if he happened to survive this encounter.)

While he was wreathing on the floor, I found myself in the vice tight grip of much slimmer, more sure, arms. A woman. She'd been so quiet, I'd barely had time to react before I'd realized that her slim hands were wrapped around my neck. The best I could have done was slip out from under the delicate strangling half circle she created with her left arm, only for me to grab her right and fling her over my head. My wing (both of them, thank goodness) were beginning to feel normal again, as the blood flow previously constricted returned back to its normal flow, and I ripped off my blood soaked sweater. I was taking this bitch down.

She snapped up on her legs faster than humanly possible, and began charging at me again. I would have compared her to a hunting lioness, if I knew what one looked like.

"You are going down." I snarled charging back and snapping out my wings. The elongated hall of the hospital was perfect; flapping hard, it was less than three seconds before I was in the air at my top speed, my wings slightly bent to compensate for the fact that hall was smaller than the length of both my wings put together. For a minute second I wondered how the boys, with t their probably large wingspans, would have been able to cope with the claustrophobic space.

I have no idea what my top speed it; but, I do know that it supposedly breaks the speed of sound. Curiously I wondered if this was the fastest I could go. Could I break the speed of light? It was a good question, since I hadn't always been able to fly this fast. It had built up over the years, till I had hit a maximum speed. The Ward Master hadn't labeled it as my utmost max speed, and so it left me wondering how they had programmed my body.

And for that matter, for the first time in my life, my eyes. Normally, a bird kid, even with our advanced sight, would not have been able to see at my speed. Their eyes would have teared up and everything around them should have been a blur. But I was seeing just fine. A slight frown tugged at my lips; it had always seemed so natural that I had never considered it. Perhaps, when they had messed with my brother’s sight they had messed with mine too?

I didn’t have enough time to contemplate all those questions. Before the lady was able to hear the flap of my wings I had crashed into her (what with my faster than sound thing going on). I heard a sickening crack come from her arm, and a splatter of blood whipped across my face in a diagonal line. Ew.

We crashed into the very end of the hall, rolling in a discordant ball, and tumbling more than a few nurses out of the way. When we finally stopped, I was able to look back and check out Marcus and Eins.

To my surprise, and dismay, Eins seemed to have been hurt. However, he’d done it, Marcus had saved her. As I tried to get up, I froze, feeling a strange tingling sensation rolling down my back. It was stressful, as thought my muscles had tensed up, and I realized that was exactly what happened. To make matter worse, the muscle spasm had my left wing (the hurt one) constantly pulsing with pain. I kneeled on the ground, not sure if I was giving up or taking a break.

Matthew

I nodded briefly before dissolving from our little group to head down my hall. It was only now, when I was away from Sam and Taylor, did I realized how frightened I really was. My mouth feel dry, and I could feel the early stages of a headache crawling up along my brain. I needed an Advil or Aspirin, or whatever the hell people used to get rid of headaches.

I could give you all the boring details of my exploration through the hall but I’m not trying to kill you. All you need to know was that is exceedingly dreary and frightening to be alone and worried for my sister. It had all my nerves on end, and I found myself carefully picking my way from nurse to nurse, politely asking them discreet questions, hoping they wouldn’t relate me to my sister quickly.

After about fifteen minutes of searching I heard the strangest thing I’d ever heard in my entire life. Third floor, eastern corridor off of room 308. The Angels are under attack. Help them. I hissed (at least in the human approximation of the word) before I began making sense of the urgent invasion of sorts. It didn’t take me long to deduce how I had received such an alien plea for help; either a) there were other mutants in the hospital, or b) the Ward was trying to bait me. And either way you looked at it, if the Ward was trying to bait me or not, it meant that either Marce, Taylor, or Sam were in trouble.

Following the direction, I soon found myself close to room 308. And that’s when I spotted her. Relieft flooded through me.

“Marce!” I called out, elated. She was hurt, so that definitely meant something was going on. There was a woman not too far away from her with a deformed looking arm. She was slouched against the wall, her lips twitching angrily as she stopped me quickly lopping towards my sister.

“Don’t you dare,” the woman growled at me as I went in to pick my sister off the ground. I had been about grumble my own response back when I realized she was holding a gun to my face. I swallowed noisily waiting for her to pull the trigger. Time seemed to stop, and I barely had a fraction of a second before I ducked. The bullet careened off the metal top of the hall, reflecting back and digging itself into the flat marble floor.

I looked back at her stunned; had she really been out to kill me? Usually the Ward went for capturing, not killing. And there was nothing even remotely Vampire-ish about her. Out of my peripheral vision I was just able to spot the blurred shapes of two smaller (or rather thinner) people, about my age, I would guess. I didn’t risk glancing, too afraid that the gun was still loaded.

Alice

"You did great, I fell on my face a few times before I could even fly at all. You're a natural, When you want to land just get as close to the ground, flare your wings a few times to reduce speed."

I felt a genuine smile creep onto my face. How many times in my life had I even been complimented? I’ll answer that for you; not many.

Even with the space Mike was giving me, I found myself angling away from him, not wanting to be smacked by his mammoth wings. For a while, I admired the way he flew. It was far more graceful than me, and if there was anyone who was “natural” at flying out of the two of us, I would have thought it was him rather than me.

For a while we flew separately, until it seemed that he had something to tell me. Carefully, he angled his wings, coming close enough that I could hear him, but staying far away enough so that we didn’t collide.

"We'll be landing at the edge of the forest, we wouldn't want any bird kids seeing our approach." I nodded quietly, listening intently as he spoke.

Then, as he had described to me earlier, he began descending towards the ground, flaring his wings out in order to make a smooth landing. I watched him with envy; I knew this was the part of the day where I failed my flying test.

He called down for her, and she grimaced when he mentioned “handling this nicely.” This was not going to be nice.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered under her breath. Taking a steep (probably too steep) dive downwards, she angled herself as best as she could, for the ground. It wasn’t enough.

“Ouch,” she growled, as she tumbled in a pile of crumpled leaves and pointy bushed. Groaning, she asked sarcastically (something she had picked up from observing one of the bird kids), “How was that.” She rolled her eyes, not at Mike, but rather at herself.

Twisting around so that she could see her wing, she grunted when she realized that her Vampire wing, jet black as it was, was marred with the small trickle of blood that indicated a cut. Her pure white Angle wing seemed find, albeit a bit ruffled.