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Eliza smiled briefly and with what seemed to be shyness and some embarrassment at Dr. Akana's praise of her. She nodded, her eyes lowering as she confirmed nonverbally that she was close to the others in age. From where she is seated with the older members of Akana's team, she eats barely tasting what she puts in her mouth, forcing herself to eat slowly and with less enthusiasm and less quantity than the other bird children. For months now she has been making herself conceal her ravenous appetite, and she is certain as a result she has lost weight. She often hoards and steals food in the middle of the night, but she knows that if she were to eat as is comfortable for her, her status would be revealed prematurely.


She watches the others speaking little, but especially Liza.


Liza waves and smiles at all who are introduced, cheerfully announcing her own name and age to all of them. As the dinner progresses, she eats with enthusiasm, sitting beside Lillie and keeping a running commentary.


"I love food. I really really do. 'Cause it tastes so good....ooh dolphins! I never saw a dolphin, I wanna go too!" she says with excitement at Brinley's suggestion. And when the cake is brought out, seh joins Dally in excitement, clapping her hands.


"CAKE! Yay!!! Can I have a rose off it? Please? And Lillie?"
 
Alex feels warmth grow inside him as she entwined her fingers with his. He barely heard the talk about weddings and babies, his mind on one thing only. He was holding hands with Callie! After so long, after months and months of holding back, of trying his best not to blurt out how pretty she was, or how much he wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go....She was holding his hand! She had kissed him!


Oh gosh, he sounded like some sort of sappy twilight fan girl. Now he needed to punch something, just to make up for it.


He kept his hand in hers even as they walked into the room and saw the food, he only reluctantly let go as he realized she needed to sit down, but even then he took a seat next to her. Dammit, now that he'd kissed Callie, it was going to be SO hard to leave. But he knew he had to do it. For the safety of the flock.


When the talk begun about a boy though, about their age, Alex snapped to attention, noticing how Dr. Akana directed her words pointedly at Callie. His eyes narrowed. A boy, Callie's age, staying here? A jealousy flared up in him and he decided he'd stick around long enough to meet the guy. Or maybe he'd better not. He might be tempted to stay if he met the guy and found out he was good looking, at least if he never met him, then he could pretend the guy was fu*k ugly.


He tuned out all words of staying here, of loving the food, and watched the others once he was finished eating. He'd miss every single last one of them, even Keanu. He let his eyes drift to look at the new girl, Eliza she had called herself. He frowned, looking between her and Liza. Boy did they look the same. Eliza just looked like an older version of Liza. His frown deepened and he sent a small thought to Callie, 'Is it just me, or does that Eliza girl look like Liza's big sister or something?'


-------


Lillie grinned as Liza seems thrilled with the idea of being Alex's little sister and being Lillie's own sister, even adding on that they should be best friends. She nods enthusiastically, speaking in a smaller voice than she usually does, becoming slightly shy in the presence of the grown-ups, "Maybe Pixie Wings would be like our little sister too, and we could call her Pixie for short."


She however, unlike Liza, doesn't seem quite as saddened when the others push the ideas aside, more used to spending time with the older kids than she is Liza, so she is used to their more logical thinking. She does lean over to Liza though, and whisper in her ear, "Nevermind, they'll have a baby some time, even if it isn't just yet." She sounds more confident as she speaks her next line, "Because Alex loves Callie and Callie loves Alex. So of course they will have a baby!"


Lillie splutters out a bit of her drink as Liza asks Dally to marry her, turning to Liza with a flare in her cheeks, "You can't marry Dally! He's too smelly and he'd poop more then the baby!" You can hear a barely concealed laugh from Alex at that comment. Lillie flashes him a smile, glad Alex is happy as she jumps down from her chair and runs over to him, jumping up to sit on his lap as she hugs him suddenly, "I'm glad you're happy Alex! Is it because you and Callie made out? Did you tell her you love her yet?" She turned to look at Callie, "Alex loves you!"


Alex's own cheeks flushed and his eyes widened slightly, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Thanks for the privacy!" Lillie stuck her little pink tongue out at him, "Well, you weren't doing anything about it!" Alex blinked. "Uh, yeah, but..." His cheeks were still red and Lillie poked them, "Hehe! You look like a girl with blusher on Alex!" His eyes widened even more, clearly embarrassed, "Lillie!" She grinned, tilting her head a bit, "You're a very pretty girl Alexius." "Oh that's it!" With this teasing yell, Lillie let out a rambunctious giggle and leapt from Alex's lap, running around the table to escape from Alex - who got up and 'chased' her. The perfect image of a big brother.


Lillie then ran into one of the grown-ups, falling back only to be caught by Alex. She immediently wrapped herself around him, sitting on his hip while she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, hiding her face from the grown-up. Alex frowned down at her, she was shaking. Actually shaking. "Cuddles?" He asks softly, "You okay?" Lillie shakes her head, not looking at the grown-up or at anyone as she keeps her face hidden, "No, no, Mr..Mr.Chu." Alex's eyes widened, and he steps back from the man, eyeing him supiciously, "What do you mean Lillie? He's not Mr. Chu, right?" The poor guy looks bewildered and Lillie shakes her head, "No...I..I...grown-ups are evil." She finally opens her tightly squeezed shut eyes, peeking over at the poor man, she seems scared still, still shaking as she manages to stutter out, "S-Sorry." Alex frowns before walking back over to the table, he sits down and Lillie seems to relax, looking up at Callie with doe eyes.


"S-s-sorry Callie." She nestles further into Alex. Not explaining why she got so scared. How she now associates any adult with needles, operations and even violence.


(Gah sorry guys for taking so long!)
 
Eliza continues to make mental note of the interaction among the group, observing their alliances and personalities from what she can tell in this brief interaction. It was clear from the handholding and exchanged looks between the two called Alex and Callie that they were an item, or perhaps were working their way towards it, and the not-so-soft whispers between the little girls made this all the more clear. She did notice that Alex was looking between her and Liza and deliberately averted her eyes, focusing on her plate, but she was very much alert to this, to his possible suspicion.


Of course, it was very true that there were many girls with long dark hair and dark eyes, and it was more than probable that many resembled her and Liza in appearance. But the similarity in looks was one-upped by their nearly identical names as well, and Eliza suspected that it would not be long before she would be forced to come up with a plausible explanation.


Liza and Lillie both seem to be very cheerful and energetic children, and close with one another as well as most of the others; it appears that the others see them almost as mascots, and regard them with love and affection. Eliza observes their silly chatter and Lillie's cuddling Alex with private distaste. If this is what Liza will expect for her to earn her trust, it will be difficult for her.


Liza grins at Lillie's confident statement that Callie and Alex love each other and will have a baby one day, and she nods her head, saying out loud to the group at large, "Yes, yes they will! Because they are in love and love makes babies! So soon they will, I think. Probably when they're eighteen or something. 'Cause that's old."


"I can so marry Dally!" Liza says, with some hurt indignation, as Lillie laughs and mocks her earlier statement. "I can too! Dally, don't you wanna get married? And have a baby Pixie Wings? And you won't either poop and I think Pixie Wings can just use the potty. She'll be smart and not need diapers I think. Right? Dally don't you wanna?"


Liza's hurt disappears when she watches Lillie jump on Alex and tease him, and she yells out playfully, "Yes, yes! Alex is a GIRL! And Dally is a girl, and Keanu is a girl, and they're all GIRLSSSS and they should wear pretty dresses!!!" As Lillie jumps up and starts to run, Liza begins to push back her chair, intending to join her. But before she can get out of her chair, Lillie is reacting with fear to the first adult she runs into. Not understanding, Liza frowns in concern.


"Lillie? Lillie that's not Mr. Chu. It's not. 'Cause that's not his name. That's...um I don't remember your name but it's not Mr. Chu right?"


Liza does get up then and comes around the table to Lillie, patting her with a continued worried frown. "It's just some guy I think," she says seriously, not realizing that the "just some guy" comment might be a bit insulting to the "some guy" in question.


Eliza, meanwhile, has finished her meal and is clearing her plate and that of some of the others, but she is intently observing the exchange between the little girls, the man, and Alex.
 
Callie listened to the table conversation, not paying much attention to it. She had lifted her fork back up and was using it to draw designs in her leftover ketchup. She glanced at Alex, and saw that he was looking at Eliza. She turned to look at Eliza, right as she caught Alex's thought. Frowning, she looked back and fourth between the two. They both had long dark brown hair and dark colored eyes, but the similarities stopped there. They had almost identical face structures. She tilted her head to the side, trying to see how that would be possible. 'Yeah...if Liza was a little older, they could pass for twins.' ​You could even hear the confusion in her thought-voice.


Dally looks at Liza funny, and shakes his head. "I'm never getting married. You girls are too...sassy." He says, finally deciding on that word. "And plus I don't like weddings. You have to take a shower." He shakes his head again. "And babies still poop! They poop everywhere. And puke. And I don't even wanna know what else. I don't want a baby. Unless maybe it's Callie and Alex's, cause then I don't really have to take care of it." He says thinking out loud.


Callie was still looking back and fourth between Eliza and Liza, when her attention was brought back by Lillie and Alex. She can feel her cheeks heat up, but not nearly as bad as Alex. She lets a giggle escape, putting her hand over her mouth to keep from being loud. She listens to the two bicker, letting out a real laugh when Lillie starts saying Alex looks like a girl. Watching Alex chase her around the table, she smiles. He was so good with the younger kids. He would be a great dad someday. That thought quickly escaped her mind, because now something was happening with Lillie. She frowned, seeing that Lillie was only afraid of one of the men Dr. Akana had just introduced.


Callie gives Lillie a reassuring smile when she apologizes to her. "It's fine sweetie." She reaches out to stroke her hair, in a calming gesture. She really couldn't blame her. She had been isolated, underwater, underfed, and god knows what else for days.
 
Blaire sat in her seat, watching the dinner dramatics in amusement. Dr. Akana served the cake to them, and Blaire chowed down, though, now without so much gusto. She ate much slower, savoring the sugary gaze over the thick cake mingled with the taste of the fresh produce. Blaire coked back laughter as Lillie, Liza, and Dallie's conversation heated. Though she froze when somehow Mr. Chu's name floated to her ears. Her blood heated as anger coursed her veins like venom just at the mention of that foul name. It was seeing what that vile excuse for a man had done to their family, scarring the life of a child. It was unforgivable. She had now seen the effects of those actions. The next time they met, Blaire would kill this man….or die trying. She sat with her back pressed to the chair, her hands curling and uncurling into fists as she watched the man the doctor had named as Prof. Bauer squirm under the attention, not understanding what just happened or what was going on. Dr. Akana spoke up and vouched again for the professor and assured them all they were in good company. Though Bauer looked as uncomfortable sitting there as he must have felt, Dr. Martinez touched his arm and muttered a few words. Things went on as usual after that; however, a few minutes later the professor and the doctor exchanged words with the doctor, he shook Dr. Akana's hand in both of his thanking her for the dinner, smiled and waved a goodbye to his colleagues and to the flock, then excused himself from dinner.


Blaire seemed to lose whatever appetite she had left. She set her eating utensils across the top of the plate, dabbed her mouth with her napkin and laid it down on the table beside her plate. Blaire pushed away from the table and stood herself. Even though it was a rather large room it felt suddenly too crowded and loud with all these people in it. Blaire stood and patted Demitri's shoulder lightly letting him know she was leaving, just so that he wouldn't worry. She decided it was time to check out the rest of the house. Getting to thinking about her enemies was making her worrisome and protective, she would go and scope the house.


It didn't take very long at all, the floor plan was well laid out and relatively simple, she found nothing to rouse suspicion. In her search, she found a computer room with several very state-of-the-art computers--that would come in handy. And in the room beside it there was a small research room, chemistry set and all. The kitchen was up on all the high-tech appliances, nothing specifically threatening, though she did make sure that she knew where the knife block/drawer was located. She would do another search, a more thorough investigation, later. Whether it be in the night or in the morning when everyone was at work. Blaire then went upstairs, time to settle in. She noticed their bags set along the hallway wall. Blaire picked up hers and took the nearest vacant bedroom to the stairs. Ever since Demitri and Lillie were captured, Blaire had become much more of a light sleeper, awaking at the slightest of sounds. She would make sure that she would be the first to wake and the first to beat the shit out of any tracker that dare enter this home. Said unlucky trackers had Chu to thank for that motive.


Blaire threw her back pack on the bed and strode around in the space. The room was bright, the walls and the furniture went along with a clean white theme, which of course made the bright blue of the sky and the ocean the focal point in the room, automatically drawing your eye to the magnificent view. The sun was setting now and the waves were more of a yellowish pink tint with the fading light. Looking out the window into the wide open sky, the room around her began to feel tight and she became utterly aware that she hadn't flown in days. Flying always cleared up her mind. Blaire padded over to the window. Her feet were bare, her footsteps silent against the short plush carpet. At the window she pushed the panes open, sea breeze flooded through the room. Blaire inhaled deeply and leaned against the sill.


Demitri was sitting there, watching Dr. Akana and her crew. Between the looks the doctors were giving between each other and what had been said, something didn't add up. He caught the glanced that Alex and Callie where sharing, they had noticed the uncanny similarity between Liza and this Eliza. He knew the world was small…but how small was it? Demitri propped his elbow on he table and leaned his chin into it. He was definitely suspicious. He just wasn't sure of what…yet.
 
"I am not either sassy!" Liza says indignantly, facing Dally with her hands on her hips, her chin lifted, before she turns and whispers to Brinley not quite softly, "What's sassy?"


Turning back to Dally, she says with more confidence, "Well my baby would be good and wouldn't neither do that stuff. Plus also you oughtta take a shower anyway. You're stinky. P.U, huh, Lillie? P.U. Dally!"


She returns to Lillie and attempts to put her arms around both her and Alex at once, patting whatever parts of Lillie she could reach. "You're safe here, Lillie. 'Cause we'll take care of you and no more bad Mr. Chu can be here."


Eliza paid little attention to Lillie and her traumatized reaction, nor to the children's teasing. What does concern her is the fact that some of the older children are looking between her and Liza in a manner that is entirely too interested for her liking. She cannot, of course, help her looks, and she had been prepared for Liza's similarity to her in appearance. She had watched the videos of the child, and had long ago deadened herself to any shock or surprise in it. She had hoped that it would not be so clear to others, though, at least not so soon. The names didn't help...she had considered changing her own, but then anger had inspired her to keep it. Eliza had been her name first...it was Liza's name, and Liza herself, who was a rip off of her. She deserved to keep her own identity.


Standing, she began to clear the places and carry them away, deeming it necessary to keep away for the moment.
 
Alex looked to Callie, eyes worried as Lillie still clung to him tightly, he nodded slightly and sent her another thought, 'They could. I think it's probably best if you keep an eye on her.'


He nearly thought the word 'we', but then remembered he wasn't sticking around and managed to block that piece of information from Callie and any of the others. They didn't need to know yet, they'd just try to stop him.


He gave Liza a small smile as she tried to comfort Lillie, and he slowly felt the girl loosen up before she looked at Liza and slowly let go off Alex, nodding weakly.


"I...I know Liza. I'm sorry. It just reminded me of the bad guys back in the boat, that's all." She then jumped down from Alex's lap and hugged Liza tightly, liking that she could hug Liza easily without having to stretch or be picked up. After a good moment or two, she pulled away and nodded, her smile slowly coming back, "Yeah Dally smells really bad, he's like a baby himself, 'cause he always smells and he poops all the time!" She grins and looks at Dally, "We should call him Baby Dally! Because he's like a baby!" She turns to look at Liza with an excited smile, waiting to see what the other girl thinks of this idea.


Alex watches as Lillie seems to get her bounce back, then, as Eliza begins to clear away, he glances to Callie before getting up and silently helping the girl. He wasn't just helping because he had manners and was a gentlemen, but also because maybe he could get a better look at her up close.


Maybe talking to her would help, but Alex wasn't a talkative person - as Eliza had probably noticed since he stayed quiet through most of the whole dinner, only really speaking when asked if he wanted more food or when Lillie spoke to him.
 
Liza smiled back and hugged Lillie just as tightly, also enjoying the similarity in their heights and the ease it gave her to be able to embrace her. "That's okay. Those bad guys are gone now so it's okay. We'll just live here where it's nice a while. And these guys here aren't bad, no one is bad, right?"


At Lillie's suggestion for Dally's new nickname, Liza grins, nodding enthusiastically. "Yes! Baby Dally! You are a big, smelly baby!" she crows, before adding more seriously to Liza, "He's not as fun as a real baby though. Plus also he's a boy. And he's not cute. And we can't even dress him pretty." She rethinks that then, starting to giggle. "Lillie! Let's dress him pretty! In pink and dresses and bows!"


As a person enters the kitchen area, Eliza looks up, tensing slightly before making herself at least physically relax. It is one of the older children, a boy about her age...the same boy who had looked at her in a strange manner. Somehow she doubted he was just being helpful...he was watching her, following her. This one she'll have to be wary of.


Still, she gives him a very brief smile before lowering her head, as if in shyness, letting her hair fall forward to mostly conceal her face. She keeps herself turned from him slightly as she speaks.


"You can put your plates there..I'll get to them."
 
Callie watched Blaire get up and walk away, and she figured that meant dinner was probably coming to an end. 'Yeah, I will. Let me know if you find anything weird.' She sent back to Alex. It didn't even occur to her that he didn't say 'we.' She pushed her seat away from the table, standing up and clearing her throat. "Well thanks for the dinner Doc, it was really good." She nodded, before following the way that Blaire had gone.


Dally frowned, while Brinley giggled about what the younger girls had said. "They're right, you could use a shower." She said, and Dally glared at her. "I don't smell THAT bad!" He yelled, bringing his shirt up to his nose and sniffing it.


Callie passed through the living room, looking at it in awe. Like most of the house, it was very modernized. Totally cool. She made her way down a long hallway, the walls lined with pictures of Dr. Akana and her crew and pictures she assumed were taken around the island. She smiled, before climbing up the stairs. She found her bag with the others, and walked into one of the rooms a little ways down the hall from Blaire. The room was going with the whole white and blue color theme. Callie almost felt bad for using it. She would hate for it to end up blood splattered and dirty. Blood and dirt usually followed the flock wherever they went.


Either way, she dropped her bag by the foot of the bed, and then plopped down on it, being enveloped by the fluffy comforter and endless amounts of pillow. She let out a big sigh and closed her eyes. She stayed like that for a few minutes, before rolling off of the massive bed and walking over to the double doors on the opposite side of the room. She pulled them open, and stepped onto the balcony that overlooked the beach. She smiled, the sea breeze blowing her hair back as she listened to the sound of the medium-sized waves crash onto the beach. It was perfect flying weather.
 
Blaire was leaning against the window, watching the sun set before she let out a sigh. With one smooth movement, she jumped onto the windowsill of the big bay window. There was blue tile of the stout roof beneath her that sloped down and out about ten feet away from the wall she was perched in. Blaire leaned forward out of her crouch and pushed off in her bare feet. She sailed across thin air until she felt herself falling, then unfurled her white and black speckled wings, the very tips of them brushing the last of the tiles on the edge of the roof. Her wings caught the air currents tumbling off the rolling waves of the ocean and soared into the air. She didn't plan on being long.


Demitri was sitting at the table still, and saw everyone had pretty much taken off. Blaire had looked pretty pissed, and kind of upset, he definitely didn't want her to stick around--she'd end up throwing things. He was glad, she was probably going out for a fly to let off some steam, or whatever it was she did. Demitri shrugged to himself. He was still pretty tired, but figured he'd help out in the kitchen or something. He stood and pushed his chair in and started stacking dirty dishes and moving what leftovers where left only one of the bigger platters. Dr. Akana and her colleague, Dr. John-Something were bustling around doing the same, cleaning up and such.
 
"Do too smell that bad. Bad bad, smelly bad...stinky stinky PU!" Liza shouts, giggling again and exchanging gleeful smiles with Brinley and Lillie as she waves her hand theatrically in front of her nose. "PU!"


As Callie and Blaire get up from the table, Liza takes Lillie's hand, looking around to the older children and the adults as though looking for direction. "Can we go play? Can we see our rooms? Are we sharing a room? Can I share with Lillie? We don't gotta go to bed yet right? 'Cause it's way too early. I wanna play and watch TV I think. 'Cause I haven't seen TV in a long long time."


In the kitchen, Eliza is aware of Demitri and some of the others joining, which likely means that Alex will not be able to question her or confront her. She relaxes slightly, grateful for their presence, and continues to clean, as if she is unaware of his earlier watchfulness.
 
Alex watched Eliza as she spoke softly, noticing how - though the gesture seemed simply because she was shy - she lowered her head and her hair fell infront of her face. Preventing him from seeing her features and comparing them to little Liza. Well, that sucked. She even turned from him, was it just him being his paranoid self? Or was there a motive behind her 'hiding' from him?


He also spoke quietly, not softly though, as he glanced to her, "No, it's okay. Wouldn't be fair to leave you to do it on your own." He wanted to ask her questions but now Demitri and the grown-ups were bustling around them. Yeah sure he was leaving soon, really soon actually, but he still wanted to check there was nothing dangerous going on here. He knew better than anyone to never judge a book by it's cover - what with the School's dirty secret and not to mention how Lillie and Liza looked like innocent five year old girls when they could really kill a full grown man without even straining a muscle.


----------------


Lillie lets out a giggle as Liza suggests dressing Dallas in a pink dress, with a bow nonetheless. "Yeah!" She adds happily, her fear at the adults momentarily forgetten, "We can put his hair in pigtails! Though there's not that much of it so they'll be really small pigtails." She glances to Dr. Akana almost nervously, normally she would have asked if she had any make-up to put on Dally, but now she was a bit too scared to ask anything of the adults. It wasn't that Dr. Akana was a scary person, she actually seemed really nice, but Lillie wasn't sure if she could trust any adults anymore. Ever.


Lillie looked back to Dallas and Liza as he declares he doesn't smell and Lillie nods at Liza, agreeing with her, "Liza's right Dally, you smell REALLY bad, like....like you had a bath in dog poop!" She giggles again at this, imagining Dallas covered in brown dog poo and scrubbing himself with it. Then Liza suggests play and Lillie looks to her happily, "I've never played with anybody except Alex, what can we play Liza?" She also nods at the mention of sharing rooms, "Yeah, I want to share with Liza too, so we can have sleepovers." She looks to Liza as she speaks, though her words are directed at the grown-ups, a bit uncomfortable with looking directly at them now.
 
Demitri sighed and picked up a large stack of dishes and carried them into the kitchen and dropped them into the stainless steel sink. He caught the look in Alex's eyes, it seemed like he was suspicious of this girl too. Had he interrupted something? Demitri felt tired and fatigued. He stretched his arms above his head with a yawn. "I'm gunna go sleep now. See you tomorrow, Alex." He clapped a hand on the other boy's shoulder as he exited the kitchen. Demitri trudged around looking for the staircase. He found his pack laying out in the hallway. It reminded him of clean clothes and bathing--which, besides the wet-washcloth thing the nurses did at the hospital, he hadn't really showered in....he couldn't remember and that probably wasn't a good thing.


He located a bathroom and took a long shower, savoring the hot water. He scrubbed his hair was shampoo at least twice before toweling off and dressing in his own clothes instead of the generic hospital sweats and a tee-shirt combo the hospital supplied him with. Demitri shook his head, an attempt at drying his ash-blonde hair, which was currently dark with moisture. After a moment of deliberation, he decided against a shirt. He was bony from the time in his incarceration in the undersea fortress being held captive by that madman; but, with due time he would be back to his own self again, at the peak of his physical abilities--like any other normal teenage mutant bird-kid. He let his wings sprawl out behind him in the space the hallway and the bedroom at the end of the hall, which he had claimed for himself, would allow. It felt good to let his wings out free, he had been cooped up for so long. The nurses at the hospital hadn't realized how awkward it was for bird-kids to lay on their backs with the wings and all. They were an additional appendage, and just like legs, they would get numb and ache if you sat on them for a long time.


Upon entering he noticed that the bedroom had a single french door leading out onto a tiny balcony with seemed to have been placed more for its decoration than it's functionality. He walked past the inviting white double bed piled high with comfortable pillows and crisp fresh linens, and pulled the door open and stepped sleepily out onto the balcony. It had a thick flat stone railing that encompassed the space, at about a foot wide it was most likely meant to fit the theme of the house but it doubled for people to lean on. That was all fine with Demitri, to him it looked about as wide as any tree branch, and following that thought, he swung his leg over the railing and plopped down on his stomach, his arms folded under his head, his legs dangling over either side, and his brown, tawny, and tan striped wings hanging lax around him. The fluffy secondary feathers fluttering in the breeze that floated off the ocean. Very peaceful. Definitely his idea of the ideal relaxation spot.
 
Alex was still watching her. Eliza could tell, even with her face averted in the manner that it was. How long would it be before he questioned her, or before he got others too?


It would be so much easier if Liza were not here, if she were back where she belonged. Well, she would be soon enough. Eliza may simply have to move faster than she had expected.


She finishes the dishes quickly and says, her head still lowered, to Dr. Akana, "May I be excused?" in an undertone, making sure that her body is still turned from Alex.


Liza, of course, is still giggling away at Lillie's continued suggestions, clapping her hands in glee when she suggests putting Dally's hair in ponytails. "Yessss! And makeup!!! Can I get some makeup Dr. Akana? And put it on Dally? Plus also on me and Lillie too. 'Cause we'd be really for real pretty. Not like smelly Dally."


Smiling back at Lillie, she answers her, "Um, we can play pretend. And house. And purple cooties....and...run and hide. And...ponies. We can pretend we're ponies and mamas and daddies....can we have a room together?' she addresses this part to the adults. "Can we? 'Cause I don't wanna room with a smelly boy if I don't gotta."
 
Callie stays on the balcony for a few moments longer, before turning around and going back in her room. When she enters, she can hear the water running from Demitri's room. A shower did sound nice. Following his lead, she makes her way into the bathroom that was attached to her room. She put the water on medium heat, and stayed in there for a good fifteen minutes. Which was actually much longer than she was used to. After soaping herself up and rinsing off, she pulls on a t-shirt and gym shorts. Her long dirty-blonde hair runs down her back, letting it air dry while she goes through the bag of new clothes that were generously given to the Flock. They had all gotten their own bag of new things. Every time she gets to a new shirt or jacket, she makes two long slash marks on the back with her pocket knife. Had to let the wings out, after all.


Dally rolls his eyes at the young girls talking, while Brinley just continues to giggle in agreement. "Well I hate to break it to you, but when we have to go days without taking showers, you guys don't really smell like a bunch of roses, either." He smirks, standing up from his seat. Upon hearing them talk about putting makeup on him and doing his hair, his eyes widen and his hands fly up to his head, protecting his hair. "There's no way you're doing that girly stuff to me!" He protests, quickly running up the stairs.


Keanu listens to the younger kids discussion in silence, smiling occasionally or giving a little chuckle. When Lillie and Liza ask about rooming together, he just shrugs. "I don't think Callie would mind." After saying this, he gets up from the table and goes into the kitchen to drop off his plate. From the large bay windows in the kitchen, he can make out Blaire flying against the sunset sky. Now that he had realized it, he noticed that his own wings were feeling stiff and achey. Putting his plate on the counter, he makes his way to the front door to join her.
 
Blaire soars through the air. Rotating through slow and wide circles or tight and quick ones, allowing the wind's currents alone to guide her, making no attempt to steer. She let her mind drift, thinking about everything that had come to pass. It was only after a while that she came to notice that she was slowly drifting upwards. Within the lapse of time she was out, she had sailed to fifteen thousand feet, unrecognizable to the human eye, but visible to someone with raptor-vision.


Blaire looked down and let her eyes focus a moment, she saw a shape hanging off one of the balconies, an even closer look revealed the distinct pattern of Demitri's wings as they were all spread out. And she didn't blame him, after so long being cooped up, she would spend all the time outside as she could. Blaire also saw another person exiting the house, but from her overhead prospective, she couldn't be sure who it was. Though she was sure it was one of the flock as a pair of wings extended from the figure's body. She would be joined in a moment or two.
 
"Yes we are! Yes we're gonna! MAKEUP!" Liza almost shrieks, way too excited now, and then bursts into giggles, hanging onto Lillie as Dally runs off. But after a few minutes of mirth she frowns, appearing concerned, as part of his retort finally struck her.


"I don't really smell bad, do I? Do I? Do I gotta take a bath?"


She smiles as Keanu gives permission for her and Lillie to room together, clapping her hands. "Yay! Lillie wanna go see our room?" She took the other child's hand again, swinging it happily, before looking back at Keanu, just to make sure. "Do I smell bad though?"


Although Eliza asks to be excused, she notices some of the other, older children are going outside. She waits, then slips out after them, remaining on the balcony and leaning against the railing to watch them rather than joining them on the beach. One of them, a girl, is flying, and Eliza watches with detached envy settling in her chest. To be able to spread out her wings like that, to fly without fear, to let them stretch out to their full form and beat them strongly in the sky rather than keep them tightly folded against her back, where none one see....


Soon. Very soon. If the the time is right, maybe even today.
 
Lillie grins at Liza and nods enthusically, noticing Alex slip out of the room also but then re-focusing on Liza. But then the girl asks her if she smells and she shakes her head, "No you don't smell bad. You smell really nice actually, like a flower or that spray that ladies wear." Lillie doesn't quite attach the word perfume in that sentence, not entirely sure what perfume even is.


She nods again as Liza asks if she wants to go see their room, "Yeah come on! I hope we got some toys in there because I really haven't played with anybody in ages!" She then allows Liza to lead her to their room, giggling with excitement.


----------------


Alex, once he has done cleaning, manages to look up just as Eliza leaves, he frowns before putting down the dish rag and following the girl out onto the balcony. He finds himself standing beside her, leaning his elbows lightly on the railing. He doesn't care if she wants him here or not, he'll be gone by tomorrow anyway, so what did it matter?


Rather than asking about Eliza and her similarity to Liza, Alex watches Blaire soar in the sky, feeling the urge to join her but resisting. "You ever flown before?" He speaks casually, wondering what Eliza will make of this question.


( Sorry for crappy post D: )
 
Liza smiles, knowing what Lillie is talking about though she too does not know the word, and then lifts her wrist to her nose, sniffing. After a few moments she shakes her head. "I don't think so Lillie. But thank you!!!"


She grabs Lillie's hand and runs with her through the hallway towards the bedrooms, nearly knocking over two people and a hallway table in the process. Their room is neat and clean but not exactly brimming with toys, so Liza looks around in disappointment briefly, then shrugs it off, grabbing Lillie's hand and leaping up onto one of the beds.


"Jump! Jump!"


Eliza notices Alex approaching before she acknowledges it, and inwardly tenses, though she attempts to keep her muscles relaxed, her face smooth. She is alert to his nearness to her, however, and resents it.


Especially when she speaks.


Fly...why is he asking her about flying?! She has not revealed who she is or what she is in any way...he couldn't know such a thing by looking, not when Dr. Akana and the rest of staff had not known for months. Could he?


She looked over at him quickly, then away again, saying in her customary shy tone, "I...I have never been in an airplane before. If that's what you mean."
 
Callie had finished cutting the shirts, and simply pushed them aside when she was done. Sighing, she walked back downstairs, going to see where the rest of the flock was. She knew most of them were probably outside. Once she got to the front door, she could see Alex and Eliza talking while Blaire flew. It looked like Keanu was probably going to join her. Smiling, she walks up to Alex and Eliza. She stands next to Alex, but turns around so she can sit on the railing while still facing the house. "Thanks again for dinner," she said, looking at Eliza. "Sorry we created so many dishes for you though. We kinda eat a lot." She smiled and shrugged, swinging her legs back and fourth. She could tell Alex was trying to get to know her better, and that's exactly what she was trying to do too.


Keanu jumped off the porch. The porch was pretty high up, and he let himself fall and almost let the bottom of his sneakers graze the ground before he snapped his wings out and flew up several feet. He stopped to flap a few times to gain some momentum, before flying off towards the direction of where Blaire was. He flipped himself over so he was facing towards the sky, and angled himself so he was directly beneath Blaire. He smiled up at her, putting his hands behind his head. "Mind if I join ya?"
 
Blaire watched him shoot up into the air to swoop around and fly beneath her. "Of course not," she replied and then she grinned, "But only if you can keep up." Her eyes narrowed at the challenge and with that she laid on the speed, her wings gathering with wind each powerful stroke. She shot forward, easily doubling her speed.


The sun was now setting, half of it's circumference hidden behind the distant ocean. The sky was aglow with yellows and reds. Blaire's wings reflected the light, making the pure white sections glow golden. Wind came rushing at her, her dark hair trailing behind her.
 
"It's fine," Eliza tells Callie, keeping her eyes focused on Blaire, aware of Alex's gaze still focused on her. "I...was told that you probably would...I don't mind."


She said nothing more as she watched Keanu join Blaire, her eyes narrowing slightly. To watch them flying so freely, without having to wait until the cover of darkness, without having to sneak about or lie or deny their abilities or true selves...it was intensely envying. Was now the right moment, after all?


Already Alex suspected her of being of his kind. How much longer could she put it off? And why was she, precisely? Perhaps revealing her true self, playing the role of someone too frightened previously to come clean, would endear them to her automatically as one of their own.


She continued to watch Keanu and Blaire, thinking. Considering.
 
Keanu smirked at her challenge, before flipping around again, and chasing after her. He could go from nothing to an easy 150 miles an hour in seconds. His wings beat at the air, causing him to easily catch up to Blaire. He hit the tip of her shoe to let her know he was right behind her, before shooting upwards. He evened himself out, so he was now directly above Blaire. He looked down at her. Raising his voice a little so she could hear him over the wind, he dropped down a bit so his body was just inches from hers. "You know, I have the perfect shot to spit on you right now." He joked, soaring back up about ten feet, but still right above her.


As they passed by the setting sun, Keanu's black wings just made him look like a huge shadow in the sky. Unlike Blaire, since her wings were brighter. From the ground, a normal human would probably just think they were just a few birds passing by.


Callie nodded. She glanced over her shoulder to watch Balire and Keanu fly. She considered joining them. She shrugged to herself, and looked back at Eliza. She seemed to be watching the two flying members up in the sky. Though the Flock was mostly used to it. Whenever someone new found out about their wings, there was usually a lot of staring. And questions. Although, much to Callie's relief, the workers for Dr. Akana hadn't asked that many questions. She just dismissed Eliza's watching as curiosity, and nothing more.
 
Below them the island was passing under them at a surprising rate as they sped along. And at their height in the sky, they could see the next island in the Hawaii chain just peeping over the horizon. They would be there in a matter of minutes if they continued.


Blaire continued, she wasn't worried in the least, sprinting like this felt great on her wings. It made her feel exhilarated and powerful, the wind full in her face making her eyes water slightly. She blinked it away.


When he mentioned spitting on her Blaire just laughed. She tucked in her wings, twisted mid-air, and opened them again so that she was laying on her back coming within inches of him. It felt strange, she'd never really tried it before, and certainly not at these speeds. Blaire smirked at him. "I'd like to see you try," she told him, issuing him the challenge. In a second she had brought her knees up and pushed off of him, her head arching back, and plummeting into a dive. It acted effectively at abruptly changing her coarse. Blaire tucked her wings in close around her and let herself drop about a thousand feet before opening her wings to spiral out to the side and pulling out of the dive.
 
Blaire and Keanu are out of sight now, but Eliza continues to gaze in the direction that they had disappeared, her hands gripping the railing of the terrace. She continues to sort out the pros and cons of revealing herself now, in part, to the other two.


Alex suspects her already. He has outright asked her about her wings. Callie appears to be sharp enough. The children are inside, the adults are not watching...but does it really matter? Now is as good a time as any, and the longer she delays her revelation, the more suspicious it will look. She can say now that once it became clear to her that the adults are accepting of bird children, and that the children themselves are, that she then finally felt safe to reveal herself too. It may gain her sympathy, even trust.


She backs away slowly from the railing and walks down the stairs, her steps slow and deliberate. Then, upturning her face to the sky, Eliza lets out her wings.


It is a relief to finally allow them to uncoil, to reach out long and straight at her sides, then to give them a slight flap back and forth, unkinking sore muscles and wafting the air about herself. Eliza keeps her face turned up as she takes off, remaining fairly low in the sky. She wants to be sure they will see her.
 
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