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Fandom Winged

Dimitri scanned the forest with his eyes but was mostly searching in his head for any disturbances on the ground which took a great deal of focus, especially when he was constantly checking behind them. The School had made him so paranoid. Well, they were to blame for pretty much everything that was wrong with him. Overly protective, untrusting, paranoid...winged...


Flying was bliss. Brilliant. Spectacular. But there were days that if he could take it all away and have a regular human life and go his entire existance without hearing about the School, he would, he would trade it all. Today was one of those days, for Lillie, Liza, their entire flock.


"There they are." Dimitri said suddenly ducking into the trees, flying neatly through branches until he saw the familiar shape of their Flock. He immediately grabbed Blaire and Lillie out of their giant hug and into his own. When he broke away he clapped Keanu and Ethan with a hug too, not above hugging his brothers. "I'm so glad all of you are safe....Where is Alex?" He looked around. "Is he scouting?" He scooped Lillie into his arms and rubbed her back between her small bluebird-like wings.


"Not scouting. He fell back to take out Erasers," Blaire said, leaving out the part about the guns. Alex would be okay, he always was, he was strong, he didn't need anyone worrying about him. That was what Blaire was convincing herself.


"NO! You brought that traitor back with you!" Dimitri roared, his face contorting, seeing Eliza's unconscious body slumped against a tree as Ethan, unknowing of what had happened, set her down. "Are you crazy? You should have left her there to die. Betraying her own kind."
 
Lillie held back a sob as they flew away, leaving Alex alone. She didn't know why, but Lillie had an awful feeling that Alex might not be coming back. She wasn't worried about him getting overpowered by the men; her Alex was smart. But he was acting odd, scarily so. She bit her lip and shut her eyes tight, as if that would help stop the worry. It didn't.


They landed and immediately Lillie was pulled into a hug along with the others, she managed to hold herself back well enough, but when Blaire kissed her forehead and spoke her eyes watered and she knew she was about to cry. She had been so scared. It was when Demitri asked about Alex and picked her up into a hug that she began to shake slightly, she was about to break. Demitri yelled something about Eliza, but she was too busy worrying about Alex, too busy recovering from the shock of being taken, again, to notice. She also noticed that Liza had not woken up yet, another worry to add to the list. She couldn't hold back any longer. Lillie broke into a sob and flung her arms around the back of Demitri's neck, hiding her face against his chest as he shoulders shake with her muffled cries. She couldn't speak past the tears so she simply sobbed, hoping they'd understand.


She had been so scared.


----


Alex was glad the Flock hadn't objected to his fighting the Erasers; he heard little Lillie call out, and even as it shattered his heart in two he carried on heading for the men on the boat. A few of them smirked at his apparent stupidity to come fight them alone, whereas a few others' eyes widened in fear that he was going straight for them. He very narrowly dodged a bullet fired at him, and then cursed slightly as one grazed his shoulder, causing him to make a sort of crash landing onto the boat.


He heard a few of the smarter Erasers immediately drop their guns and a punch was aimed his way, he quickly blocked it and sent his knee into the Erasers gut. Alex knew he wouldn't be able to outfight all of them, not when guns were currently aimed point blank at him. While he was fighting, he was currently focusing on the water surrounding the boat - thankfully there was so much of it that it was helping to boost his abilities to control it. He dodged another punch, striking the attacking Eraser straight in the face, causing the thing's nose to shoot up and kill him instantly, he then knocked a gun straight out of one of their hands and into the water, wanting to eliminate the chances of being shot as quickly as possible. As this is going on, the water a few feet away begins to shift and rise, only a few notice as the wall of water rushes towards the boat and leap off the vessel with a yell. Alex shoots up in the air as the wall of water collides with the boat, taking it and the remaining Erasers straight under the water's surface. He then proceeds to dive under the water, noticing his body's gladness for being surrounded by it's element, and he spots a few of the still alive Erasers' struggling under the water to go back up. Alex smirks coldly, before he spins his hand, focusing on the water around them. A few of them kick in alarm as they feel the water around them behind to swirl in a clockwise motion, around and around and around until they are stuck in the middle of an underwater hurricane. Pieces of the drowned boat join the chaos, one of them smacking into an Eraser and taking him out. It's not long before the Erasers have either drowned or been crushed from the force of the swirling water and Alex shoots back up into the air once they are all dead and sinking to the bottom of the ocean. He shakes himself lightly, wincing as his shoulder stings from the grazed bullet wound.


He glances towards the mountains then, but even though the thought to join them crosses his mind; he had made his decision the second he had offered to stay behind and hold the Erasers off. They'd be better off without him. Lillie would be safer, Liza too, Callie had Ethan, they all had each other. He just caused trouble. Lillie had been hurt too many times because of him and his broken promises. He gave the mountains one last glance before flying away from the scene, away from the school, away from the Flock.


They'd be fine without him. 
(So yeah, this would be when Alex runs into Grace, oh, and since it seems Faith may not be returning, should we try to decide what to do with her characters? =/)
 
Callie pushed her tangled blond hair out of her face as her cream and coffee colored wings kept her moving forward. After everything that had happened today, all she wanted to do was sit down with her family.


The day had started out nice. They had a nice few hours at the amusement park, riding rides and eating extremely fattening foods. They were all having a great time until the girls were taken and all hell broke loose. Callie frowned thinking back on it. Every time something was going good, whenever they were all happy and together, the school had to go and ruin it. They ruined everything.


She didn't have much time to dwell on it before Dimitri had pointed the rest of their group out. Quickly dropping to the ground, it only took her seconds before she pulled her brother into a bear hug. Even though Keanu had some inches on her and definitely some pounds, she heard him suck in a breathe as her grip on him tightened before she let go. They then both made their rounds, each of them hugging members of the opposite group.


"I'm so glad you're all okay," She breathed, kissing the two younger girls on their heads. She then turned back to Keanu, finally realizing for the first time what bad shape he seemed to be in. She then remembered that he must have been surrounded by all that water as well.


"Here, sit down," She lightly took his arm and had him lean against a tree. He'd be fine soon, he just needed to rest. At the mention of Alex going after erasers, she raised an eyebrow. "He went alone?"


Keanu nodded as a response. "Yeah. There weren't a lot though, I'm sure he'll be back soon," Keanu lied. He hadn't really stuck around long enough to exactly make out how many guards there had been, but he knew they had guns.


At Dimitri's outburst about Eliza, she saw a few wide eyes and confused looks. She sighed before looking at Eliza's slumped body. "She betrayed us. She was in on this, all of this," She motioned towards the direction where they had all just came, the school. "This was all her fault." She explains simply and quietly, taking a slightly different approach then Dimitri. "She can't be trusted."


((Well for Faith's characters, I don't think we can take complete control of them. They're still her characters either way. So I don't really know :/ ))
 
((This is probably three pages worth of posts....wow.))

She didn't think it was possible. For Trackers to have wings. Though these weren't Trackers exactly, they were some kind of hybrid. Robots with a kind of human leathery skin stretched across the frame. Who was the School thinking they were trying to fool? An automation was an automation. Robot or no, they were a b*tch to kill. Grace wished horribly that they would just die or do what ever they did when their wiring or whatever failed and they broke. She'd barely managed to escape the School without detection, only to be sicced on by these--whatever they were, she was much to tired to come up with some clever name, besides she couldn't afford to direct her attention away from the situation at hand which happened to be escaping these things.
Grace had nearly exhausted herself escaping the School alone, right now she was afraid she might drop out of the sky. She couldn't go back to the School. She didn't belong to those f*ckers who seemed to think they owned people and subject them to cruel experiments and work them like slaves. Grace would rather take her own life than be taken back and watch their satisfaction that she would never be able to get away. She was determined. She wouldn't be so easy to give up.


If she had any energy she'd shift into the shape of a Thunderbird, a large bird believed only in myth, and rip into the metallic throats of the Trackers. It was pretty cool. She had the ability to change her shape into any animal, mostly birds, but a lot of land animals too. That was what made her such a great "tracker", part of the reason the School wanted her back so badly.


Grace's shoulder blades hurt where her wings were as they beat the air. Unfortunately for her, there was almost no wind today. She wanted to yell out a string of curse words. She had rotten luck as a general rule. Grace glanced back over her shoulder, if nothing else they were closer than before. She didn't have the strength to loose speed or to drop back and fight and pull off that Thunderbird attack she so wanted to do. What she had to do was think.


Start with them. They have heavy mechanical wings. They are bulky. They are programed. They have no real brain. They pursue. They seek to capture or destroy. They were ten to one.


Now her. She was dead tired. She had no special attack strength. She was light weight. She was nimble. She was practiced. She had excellent reflexes. She sought to evade. She knew her limits. She was smart.


If she didn't do something soon, they would catch up and she would have nowhere to go. A plan started to formulate.


One last look behind her as if to confirm that she could outrun them and didn't need to do what she was about to do. She had never done it before, never practiced it, and her usual fearless demeanor left her. Grace had never been afraid of heights. But the thought of doing this on purpose, while she was not at her physical peak, not knowing is she could really pull this off, it terrified her. She sucked in a hasty deep breath and folded her wings, tucking her arms across her chest.


Easy is was a thousand or so feet in the air, the ground beginning to rush up at her. About a mile before the trees, she was coming in so fast she didn't know when she was suppose to, she flung out her wings and tried to turn them up to catch the wind.


Evidently she did something wrong because her tan wings snapped back, the tips briefly touching over her head. She wanted to cry out in pain, but with the wind, it was difficult to breathe. Her eyes teared up, it felt like her wings were tearing off. But it did whatever was intended it to do. She slowed down significantly.


Grace dropped through the trees. Her wings slowing her fall, catching on branches and painfully bending, before the shock registered with her and she closed them tight against her back. Without thinking her hand reached out and grabbed a branch as she fell. Her legs swung to a stop beneath her. Adrenaline pumping hard through her veins. Grace glanced up, seeing black dots in the sky getting slightly by the second. They were slowing with more a careful decent than she. They would be down in a matter of minutes, Grace had to get down to the ground.


She glanced around below her at the other branches, anticipating which one's she would have to grab and whatnot. With a quick breath she let go, jumping down, branch by branch. By the time she had touched actual ground, she'd gotten the hang of it, landing into a crouch in a forest floor of pine needles and dead and recently fallen leaves. It was early autumn. Her hands were cut up pretty bad and bleeding.


Grace was wearing standard issued clothes to the "experiments" of the School, or at least the higher ranked ones, which she happened to be--meaning that she got an education, fed nutritious meals, but subjected to more scrutinous tests. Wearing nothing but a pair of pale cadet blue linen pants, sort of stiff and a bit baggy around her legs, and a white cotton tee-shirt, and barefoot.


She'd give herself another minute before the Trackers descended through the trees. Grace lunged out of her position crouching on the ground and started sprinting. She didn't know what made her do it, but she ran in a unpredictable path instead of a straight line, hoping that might throw off her pursuers. She had to jump over bushes, and dodge trees that sprouted up everywhere. Her breath sawed out of her lungs. Her feet touched down on the ground virtually silently with each step, though she hated to think what they looked like right now, stepping on rocks and broken branches, she knew they were bleeding. Grace threw a look over her shoulder, hearing sounds behind her. Sure enough they were behind her, about three fourths of a miles, they were impossible to miss. She only saw them a fraction of a second before she turned her attention back in front of her. Think, THINK! She demanded of herself. You are a 'tracker'! She needed to know more about her surroundings.


Grace allowed herself a long drag through her nose. She absorbed the smells, if she had enough time she would stop and listen for sounds, but there was no chance of that. She focused on the scent. Identifying different kinds of trees, scrubs, flowers, animals, all within seconds. But there was another smell...human. Maybe if she could lead the Trackers there...She could surprise them, leave enough of her blood on them that they might stop and take out the humans first. It was idea. A horrible depressing one, but she needed to save herself. In the distance, her enhanced ears--one of the effects of all the mutations she could shift into at will--she heard rushing water. She almost melted in relief, not only would she distract them, she could lose her own scent and escape into the water.


Grace was desperate. She headed for the sound of water and the smell of humans to carry out the impromptu plan.


Her dark blonde hair was streaming being her. She could smell water now, the sent of humans becoming stronger. Two of them. From the smell of it, both males. It was still fairly early in the morning so she hoped they might still be sleeping, that would make leaving her scent that much more easier to leave.


Grace could now see the flowing river through the trees. A previous thought finally struck her as if it came to her a second time. It was early Autumn. At mid-morning the water must be freezing. But she'd rather suffer through the discomfort of being cold rather than being killed. It was the best shot she had.


Her torn up feet took her across the forest floor, the forest flying past her. Her clothing catching and ripping on stickers and thorn bushes. Even though she knew that besides her breath, her steps were noiseless, Grace knew that with every step she only left more of a trail for the Trackers to follow. But that would all change at the river. Grace doubted the automations could follow her into the water. She looked forward to the relief the cool water would give against her feet. Bruised, blistered, scratched, and scraped. She knew her hands had to be worse. Though the adrenaline running through her system helped her keep her mind off of that.


Grace broke through the trees at last, vaulting over a line of holly bushes and managing to avoid getting caught in their prickly leaves. Her feet landed on rock, slabs of flat, hard layers of rock made up the bed of the gushing river that was flowing about fifteen feet away. Grace hesitated enough in her pace so she could give a glance over her shoulder. Luckily she'd managed to stay a minute ahead of them. Her head whipped back around as she continued to run, her wavy dark blonde hair spinning in a curtain. Her mind had gone into some kind of trace since then. It had allowed her to react and avoid obstacles without faltering her pace, it had taken over when she took that breath to absorb the environment. It was picking up now, kicking into an survival mode, one that would ultimately result in these human's deaths while she fled. Scared for her life she ran at the human that was standing a few feet from the river.


Like one of the big cats she could turn herself into, her muscles coiled briefly before she pounced. Even when she was in her original form, a bird-kid, animal instincts were still second nature to her. They way her body stretched in the air. One hand grabbed a fistful of his shirt above his collarbone, the other digging into his shoulder with her fingernails forcing him down as her weight slammed into him. Grace fought the almost overwhelming desire to rip into his throat. She was sure if she did, this boy's first impression might have been of caress against his neck, that is, until the next second when her canine's tore into the soft unyielding flesh.


However, though, while this entertained a darker kinkier sense of humor deeper in her mind, she refrained from doing that. Instead, she utilized the one thing she had, surprise, and they fell to the ground. Her original intention, to force him into submission and coat him with enough of her blood--and maybe some of his own--that the Trackers would fall for the bait while she escaped off into the river.


--


Alex's body was tense, his fists clenched as he simply waiting, he could hear the breathing getting louder, closer, but what he sure as heck didn't expect was some wild thing with tangled blonde hair to leap at him - like some sort of freakin' tiger - and knock him roughly to the ground. Her hand had gripped his t-shirt, her other hand pressing roughly against his shoulder, fingernails digging in painfully. Damn she was strong. His head bounced slightly as it hit the floor, him letting out a small groan at the quick, sharp pain that occurred and his instant reaction was to grab the girl's wrists and fling her over the back of his head so she would also hit the floor, he did this in about three seconds, then jumped up and turned to face the girl.


His mouth almost dropped open, his eyes wide as he stared at her, speaking with a confused voice. "Callie?" His chest was rising and falling rather quickly; the adrenaline of a fight beginning to kick in, and his hair was slightly tousled from being tackled. Oh god she looked stunning. Her hair was a bit darker, even with a red streak through her bangs, but it suited her so well. Not to mention the fact that her top was torn a little bit near the tummy and that patch of skin that was showing was definitely evoking some unexplainable feelings in Alex.


Yeah. He needed to focus.


He could see the fight in her, was she pissed that he left? Oh well, he didn't want to her hurt her, but if she was going to try and hurt him, he wouldn't just stand by and let her. "Callie, what are you doing?" He was still frowning at her, able to smell blood, and glanced down to see the crimson liquid on her feet. He didn't question it, but he did wonder why she had no shoes on, and why was she wearing the standard school clothes??


Oh god, have they taken the Flock?


--


Grace had to admit, whoever this guy was, he was fast, she had to give him that. He wriggled out from underneath her grasp and flipped her so she landed on her back on the slate of rock that made up the bank of the river they were fighting on. She hadn't expected that kind of move and reflexes from a human. Grace sucked in a breath that had rushed out as she landed in less than a second, she jackknifed onto her feet. That was when she realized he was starring at her with a strange look. It was a mixture of confusion, recognition, and something else.


Then it was her turn to be confused. Callie? Is that what he called me? Her eyes grew wide. Grace was made as the girl's clone. Something Grace had never asked to become. Forced to study the girl and the flock as it was planned for her that one day she would replace the origninal and take over as the leader of the flock. Even though Grace had never met Callie in person and greatly resented the girl. After the initial shock and confusion cleared up, she didn't bother to wonder how he knew her, she was just angry that anyone would have the nerve to compare her to the other girl. She was as good as the 'original' if not better.


They took each other in. And despite her angry, she couldn't help but notice him. Tall, muscular in a athletic wiry way, broad shoulders. Handsome features, dark green eyes, and unkept dark locks, slightly wind tossed the way she liked. But those eyes... Very desirable overall.


But then he spoke again and ruined just about the idea she had developed of him. Confusing her with Callie, a girl who she so despised. "Do not call me that," Grace's voice dropped low into a growl. Her feet moved uneasily under her, moving in a motion that could be confused that she was circling him, but really getting closer to the water's edge. She could feel her energy stir around her stomach, she'd have just enough to turn herself into a duck or a salmon or trout of some kind to swim off and disappear. She might feel guilty later about the Trackers killing this cute guy she'd had left for dead. But she did what she had to do to survive.


--


Alex frowned as Callie looked him over, what was wrong with her? It was like she was seeing him for the first time again. And where on earth was the Flock? His frown deepened even more when she growled at him, telling him not to call her that. Not to call her what, Callie? He spoke up as she moved, seeming to circle him, "You want me to call you California? You always told me you'd tear my head off if I---" He cut himself off then, and his eyes narrowed slightly.


She wasn't Callie. She couldn't be, right? She looked just like, identical even, but those red streaks, Callie always said she'd never dye her hair like that, and even the hair was darker slightly, if Callie had been on the beach at Dr.Akana's, wouldn't it have gotten lighter? And the way she looked at him; like she had never seen him before in her life. Plus the missing Flock. His eyes hardened, was she something created by the school? Was she sent here to get them? To get his Flock. "You're not Callie, are you?" He spoke in a low tone, "Who the hell are y--" He was adruptly cut off as he was struck harshly in the back by something sharp. He let out small yell of pain, feeling his flesh been torn, and reacted instantly, lifting his leg up in a spin kick that sent the damn tracker into a tree. He reached back, feeling his shirt had been torn and there was some blood there too, how the heck had he not heard those damn trackers?


"I'm really not in the damn mood for you idiots today." He growled this out, then, as one of the foolish trackers ran at him he flicked his finger, a stream of water shot straight past Grace, almost smacking her in the face, and wrapped itself around the tracker's body like a viper, Alex clenched his hand, tightening the water around the automation and making the pressure so high - about the same level of a tsunami's power - that it literally cracked the machine into pieces. Four ran at him now, all attacking him at the same time, he was doing okay, kicking and punching parts of them off, even taking one of their heads off and causing it to fall to the ground in a pile of parts, until they seemed to synchronize their attacks. The first kicked his ankles, taking him to the ground, the second pinned him, and the third raised it's weird claw thingy; Alex wasn't sure if it was going to kill him or just knock him out, until the disgustingly hideous thing spoke, yes, it actually spoke. "Bird Kid Alexius Kane Lozier confirmed. Capture initiating; arrival at School set." Alex thrashed then, trying to get the creepy robot thing off of him. "There's no damn way I'm going back there. And when the hell did you guys get vocal cords?"


--


Grace had inched towards the edge of the water, eager to make her getaway. The slate rock moist, but still having traction. Grace was just about ready to leap into the water when she saw it. It had, though she despised admitting it, made her hesitate, making her her heart pound in fear, freezing her were she stood. Watched as the Tracker emerged from the trees and lunged at the boy, claws extended, and raked than across his back. Grace winced for him, knowing what if felt like being on that end of those claws too, it was painful.


For the most part, she realized, her plan had worked. The Trackers took the diversion. The boy wouldnt go down without a fight, leaving her plenty of time to escape. That is until she witnessed how with a flick of his hand he sent the water flying out of the river behind her. It'd been so close that she felt the most sting her face, a shiver rolled down her spine, but not from the chill of the water, but from how close it had gotten to her. She watched as the water ensnared one of the automations and made it virtually implode under the intense pressure. The power and energy behind the attack was almost palpable.


The boy went on to attack several others. This was a perfectly opportune chance at escaping if she ever had one. Grace whirled around to jump into the water but something slammed into her. Sending her to the hard rock. Ahalf a second after she was very aware that she was pinned down. Any sense of fear disappeared and was replaced as anger flared through her veins. There was nothing she hated more than being trapped, helpless, stranded, or dependent on another person. Exhaution and fatigue were replaced by adrenaline. And finally she felt it. It was familiar. The twisting in her stomach, and the heat as it consumed her limbs. Her pupils contracted into pinpoints before lengthily into vertical slits.


Her spine twisted and her jaw snapped shut on rows of razor sharp teeth. The Tracker went flying into the river. With a roll, Grace was on her feet, or well, all fours. She'd turned herself into a couger, one slightly larger than it average size. Grace didn't have enough energy for anything larger, like a bear or a tiger, tranforming into an animawith more mass than herself was difficult and required more of her energy. But this worked too. The Tracker she'd thrown off was rising out of the water. She lept at it, her long deadly claws tearing through the metal on its chest, tearing out electricals.


The smell of ozone filled the air as the electricals fried out. Grace jumped off looking for her next opponent, ready for a fight that she was only too eager to flee from just minutes before.


Her gaze turned on the boy, he had taken out a few Tracker while she'd been engaged but was now pinned under two of them.From the second that she saw him manipulate the water, shed known what he was, a bird-kid, and now they were taking him back to the school. And it was her fault. she felt her heart drop, she didn't stop to figure out why though--she wasn't she why or if she wanted to know. Grace didn't hesitate. Her muscles coiled and shot out at what she assumed to be the leader, since it had the ability to speak. Wrestling it to the ground, her jaws clamped around it's wolf-like head, whiping her head back with one swift powerful motion she tore it from its mechanical socket. Wasting no time she turned on the remaining one seeing that with the distraction, the boy had taken out the last one. The whole thing took half a minute if not a little more.


Knowing the school, they'd be sending reinforcements. Grace had to get out of there. She reverted back to her original plan. The adrenaline wearing off, she started to feel light headed. She managed to run to the bank before allowing the heat to reced back into her chest, turning back into a human. She dives into the water.


--


Alex, as the tracker claw descends on him, is prepared to take his 'punishment' like a man, his eyes open, but he has stopped struggling. Then, the claw is gone. So Alex wastes no time in throwing the first Tracker off from his body, he glanced over to see the Callie-clone was indeed the one who had saved him, she had somehow managed to turn into a cougar? Well, that was interesting. He looked back as a Tracker claw narrowly missed his face, and let out a small growl, he needed to focus on the fight, not the mysteriously hot, canine shifting girl. So, as casually as one would, he managed to run up over the trackers chest, step on his head then fling his foot backwards, kicking the tracker in the back of the head, his other foot pushing down on it to counter the force, causing the neck to snap and the head to come off completely. He landed on the floor, the tracker's head dropping beside him. He did a spin kick, just for good measure, to see the not-Callie girl had taken out one and just finished off the second.


He watched the girl sprint past him, opening his mouth to question her, but then she was gone into the water. What the heck? Some girl who looks like Callie shows up, pins him to the floor, tells him not to call her Callie, saves his life then just dives off into the water? Oh hell no. There was no way she was getting away without Alex getting some answers first. Like who the hell is she and how did she just turn into a cougar?


So, he sprinted over to the river himself, wasting no time in diving in after her. He quickly caught up, manipulating the waves of the water to push him faster. He stayed behind her though, unable to over take her as the river they were in was too skinny. He kept behind her though, waiting for her to either stop and jump out, or for the river size to increase.


--


Grace had dove into the river, and rather than try to beat with the currents and attempt to swim she simply pulled her arms above her head into streamline position, shifted her legs into the tail of a dolphin, and used her natural ability to breathe under water. She slid through the water like that for a while until she became aware she was being followed. Grace knew without a doubt that it was the other bird-kid. He could manipulate water so she could safely assume that he was somehow doing something to keep up with her. Grace frowned and shifted fully into a fish this time, a trout, one of the faster fresh water fish. It doubled her speed and made her more agile, slipping through the fastest currents. But she couldn't shake the water freak behind her. Though she couldn't help but point what a devilishly attractive water freak he was.


They were having a vicious match of cat and mouse, her unfortunately being the mouse. Grace was sick and tired of playing mouse. After years of being the prey and finally earning her freedom she was still being preyed on. Now she was deciding she would no longer run. Time to take a stand. Exhaustion was no longer an option. So when the newest opportunity arose, she took it. Up ahead the stream entered a very large rock formation as it goes under ground for what appeared to be for the next mile. She jumped out like a flying fish and landed as a human on the rocks above the stream. She took of into a sprint, again running, thinking she'd have a better chance against him on land and away from water rather than flat out in the water. Grace decides she is too tired to run away the entire time and instead decided she would conserve her energy for a potential fight. Though if she were at peak performance she'd be able to run all day long. So she perched herself in a tree in a clearing and waits catching her breath. She was sopping wet after her adventure in the river, but after the run she'd dried off slightly, just so that she wasn't dripping and giving off her position, but was still rather damp Hidden in the heavy foliage of the branches she is able to swing down and knock the boy over as he comes rushing after her through the clearing.


Now she asks the question that spurred everything behind her sudden change in plans. "Why are you following me, dammit?" she demands.


--


Alex watched as the girl once again shifted in front of him - first to a half-dolphin, half-girl thing, then completely to a fish. He himself was moving the water to leave an air bubble in front of himself so he could breathe still. She sped up considerably when she shifted into a fish, but Alex just pushed the waves against himself faster, manipulating the currents to give himself the edge.


He had to admit, this chase did have his heart pounding pretty fast. It had been a while since he had been chasing something other than a tracker. And this was probably the first time he'd been chasing a hot girl.


Then, the girl-fish jumped out of the water, obviously realising that Alex had the advantage here, and he quickly followed suit. Landing with a small thud, he shook his hair out of his face and began to sprint after the Callie-look-alike. As he ran, the water particles on his clothes, skin and hair flew off, evaporating into the air. He chased the girl right into a clearing, then froze. She was gone. Completely gone. He looked around, confused for a minute before he decided he'd try and hear her thoughts. But before he could even try to do that two feet slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. He blinked up to see the shifter girl had him pinned - again - and was angrily demanded to know why he was chasing her.


He couldn't help but grin at her slightly. Damn his heart was beating way too fast, he guessed chasing a mysterious girl through a river and a forest could do that to a guy. "You're seriously asking me that? You're the one who jumped me." Unlike before, he wasn't making a move to throw her off or stop her from pinning him. He frowned lightly, brow furrowing, his voice quieter now, a confused murmur. "Who are you?" It was so weird. She looked just like Callie. It was like seeing Callie all over again, and that didn't seem to be so good for Alex right now. Not when all he wanted was to kiss her and never stop.


--


Grace blinked, expecting him to flip her again and argue with her or at least give her a reasonable explanation as to why he was following her. But his statement had caught her off guard. But the think was, she knew he was right. But she hated admitting that she was wrong. She opened her mouth to shout back some clever retort, but none came to mind. She was straddling him with her palms pressed into his shoulders. Why hadn't he thrown her off yet? Grace wasn't complaining however, she liked the view.


She saw confusion and something similar to fascination subtly pass through his rather hard-to-read expression. 'Who are you?' he asked. Grace almost wanted to answer that with the same question. She wanted to know herself. Grace was the clone of California Knight, her personal purpose in life still somewhat marred. Grace had done nothing but grown up and lived to fulfill as the 'original's' shadow. She didn't know what it was, but she had a weird feeling like she was compelled to share her thoughts with this boy like he had to know more about her. This boy obviously knew the original Callie, Grace wanted him to know that she was nothing like the other girl that she was better, but she was not in comparison to her. Her fingers coiled into fists and she looked at him, returning the look of fascination with a determined glare in her eyes."Grace. My name is Grace Havoc."
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Alex watched as the girl took her time in responding, finally giving him a name. "Grace?" He spoke back quietly. Grace Havoc. So she wasn't Callie. What was she then? An identical twin? No...Callie would have mentioned that. He opened his own mouth to ask her why she looked identical to the girl Alex loved, but then closed it again, much as she had earlier. He remembered the way she had reacted earlier when he mentioned Callie, not to mention the 'don't question me' glare in her eyes. She obviously had some issues there.


Then again, if everywhere Alex went people kept calling him by the name of someone else, he'd get pretty pissed off too.


But still. She looked so much like Callie. There was silence for a moment, both bird kid staring at one another, before Alex decided to speak up."I..I'm Alex, Alex Lozier." He seemed polite to give Grace his name, she had after all told him hers. He then frowned, "Are you from the school too?" He wondered why she hadn't got off of him yet, but then again, he didn't really mind, and it wasn't like he was exactly trying to push her off either.


He knew he hadn't given her a reason as to why he followed her yet, but he wasn't exactly sure why he did. If she asked, he'd just tell her it was because she attacked him, because she looks like a girl he used to know, oh and the whole shifting thing. But to be fair, he got attacked all the time, he was trying to avoid Callie, not follow her, and it wasn't exactly like he wasn't used to people around him having powers anyway.


So why had he followed her?


--


His name was Alex, huh? She remembered hearing about him before. The School had made her do research on all the Flock members. Though she only went into full detail on California for obvious reasons. But whoever he was, he seemed to be shocked that her name wasn't "Callie". When he asked about the School, she rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, I have a crazy fan club. Their obsessed with me." Grace said in a sarcastic tone, one eyebrow cocked. "Of course I'm from the School." She leaned down closer. "I think its pretty obvious we're both from the School. But you have that groomed-freedom kind of thing about you. What's your story, pretty boy?" Oh, and she certainly thought he was pretty. But it was more than that, the more she looked at him the more she decided how hot he was.


Before she inadvertently decided to do something stupid, Grace leaned away from him and moved in what was basically a roll, situating herself next to him about an arm's length away. Again she wondered why he hadn't thrown her off, how long would he have let her straddle him had she hadn't gotten off of him. She got to her feet, wanting to have an out. Grace had enough energy to turn into a small fast bird, which would actually conserve energy moreso than opening her own wings and flying away. She suddenly got caught by a dizzy spell. Yeah, she wasn't going anywhere. So she folded her legs and sunk to the ground again, her palm to her temple, but turned in such a way that she could watch him.


--


Alex grinned slightly as Grace joked with him. She certainly had Callie's sarcasm rolling off her tongue. Then the wild girl leant closer, still straddling Alex as she had been for a while now, and he could have sworn he felt his heart pick up a bit. What was she doing? Should he push her off? But no, she was only speaking to him, so why was his heart still pounding?


Had to be the chase. Yeah. That was it.


He chuckled as she rolled off of him after declaring he looked free yet groomed, oh and pretty, lets not forgot that one. His story? He propped himself up, watching as Grace stood up, looked around as if she was looking for an escape route, then seemed to pale a bit before practically dropping to the ground. He frowned slightly, worried as she seemed hurt for a moment, but then decided she seemed fine. Plus, if she was anything like Callie she probably wouldn't want him fussing over her. So he pulled himself up so he was sitting with his legs crossed, leaning forward a bit as he lightly teased her with a small curve to his lips. "You think I'm pretty?"


He then remembered she'd asked for his story, and he shrugged, usually he wouldn't give much up, but for some reason he wanted to tell Grace. She obviously wasn't a tracker, which he was glad for. He'd hate to hurt such a beautiful face. "My story? Uhm, broke out of the school a couple of months back, maybe a year I'm not too sure. Went on the run with this group of other bird kids, we called ourselves 'The Flock' and after some major trouble with a freaky guy who kidnapped some of our Flock, we rescued them and them some Doctor took us into her house." He shrugged, stretching slightly, "But I got bored of the cushy life and left, met some bird kid named Joseph and we've been camping in the woods for a while now." This is of course not at all the reason why Alex left, he would have loved enjoying the 'cushy life', but he wouldn't even tell Joseph why he had left his old Flock, let alone some hot girl he had just met.


Though the hot part was tempting him.


--


Grace couldn't help but laugh at his tease. "Ohhhh yeah. Very pretty. Just look at those cheekbones," Grace teased right back, leaning forward to pinch one of his cheeks affectionately. It felt good to be acting like this, so carefree. After never being allowed any freedom at the School, besides lashing out with her sharp tongue of hers, it felt good to joke around. She wanted to be like this all the time. This was the first time she felt she could be herself. She decided she could trust him for now, as he didn't seem to have any motive against her, didn't try to follow her when she stood up, more like he looked worried when she practically collapsed back on the ground. Grace found all of this strange. The practical side of her brain told her she should be getting on her way as soon as possible that she was better off on her own than around a guy from 'Callie's' Flock and who was potentially more powerful than she was. The risk-taking side of her kept finding things she liked about him, besides the obvious things like his calculating dark green eyes, but the spark of mystery in them, the way he responded to her gibes at him, the power and control he had behind his movements, power which was hard for her to rein a lot of the times as it comes and goes she'd feel it one time and it'd be gone the next.


Then there was a sense of comradery, of combining assets to form a team. Something that being alone she was vulnerable to. Grace didn't even have to think about it to know she wanted his company. After he told her his story, pieces of information she knew about him and the Flock fitting together, but she didn't let on. As for her own story, she'd just escaped, that part was spoken for. However she didn't care if he was expecting her to go into detail, because she wasn't. Despite the need she felt to tell him things about herself, she wasn't ready to go into detail about why she was at the School and what exactly she was doing there. She decided to test how far he felt on the matter. "Well, then. It was lucky you were a bird-kid, huh? I didn't plan on that. Originally you were just the bait." She smirked, she gestured to his shirt and opened her hands. There were there were rips in the shoulders and dark red-ish brown stains from the blood that had dried there when she'd attacked him. The river had washed away most of the dried blood on her own skin, her feet were still oozing a bit having been run on and all of that but that couldn't be helped. All that was left on her hands were the long thin scabs from getting all scratched up, she'd give it a day before they became all pink and healed up nicely. "All apart of my devious master plot for escape. Worked too, they all attacked you. Had it not been for those pretty "cheekbones" of yours, you'd have gotten sliced open or taken back to the School. And I couldn't have that." She leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand propped on her elbow. Grace was still a bit light-headed from the recession, silently cursing the unpredictable fluctuation of her power.


--


Alex grinned as Grace leant forward, pinching his cheek lightly, he didn't even stop to think about how he would have reacted if anyone else had just done that. Probably would have flipped them through the floor. Even if anyone in the Flock had done that, with the exception of Lillie or Liza, he wouldn't have reacted well. Alex was also having his own inner conflict, much as Grace was. He had also decided she wasn't much of a threat anymore, sure she had attacked him, but she had then in turn saved him, and even ran away from him. If she had wanted to kill him she would have let the trackers do it for her back by that waterfall. But still, should he really be getting close to ANOTHER bird kid? He had left his Flock for a reason, and then not even a month after he had ran into Joseph, who he had managed to befriend, and now this girl Grace too? Wasn't he just essentially making another Flock? And it would be even worse this time because he'd have to be the leader, which would make him even more responsible if something bad happened to any one of them.


Then there was the way her blue eyes seemed to catch the light at perfect moments. The perfect curve she had to her lips as she poked fun at him. Not only did he like the way her hair - darker than Callie's - was slightly messed up from their tussle, but also that red streak of individuality in her bangs. There had to be more to her story. His curiousity was beginning to get the better of him as the minutes passed; the more time he spent speaking to her, the more he wondered just how alike to Callie she was. Why did she even look like Callie? Were they twins? It seems the only logical explanation. But surely Callie would know? Plus, Keanu was Callie's twin, would that make them triplets?


Alex's brain was buzzing slightly from the complexity of his thoughts, trying to figure out something that was almost impossible. He decided to shut it up for now, maybe he could ask Grace, or get it out of her in some way or another. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about her admittance to him just being bait. She hadn't known he was a bird kid? Did that mean she was planning on leaving some poor human for the Trackers to demolish? Before he could show much reaction to that, she motioned to his top and he looked down to see tears in the shoulders, and of course some dried blood. That must have been from where she threw him to the floor. He remembered thinking more about the fact that a hot Callie-look-alike was pinning him rather than the pain in his shoulder and back.


Speaking of which, his back just then decided to give off a violent sting and after reaching back and touching the open wound - suppressing a wince - he remembered he had indeed been slashed down the back by a talkative robo-Tracker. They always went for his damn back. He looked to Grace with a grin as she casually told him that his 'pretty cheekbones' had been the thing that got him saved, leaning closer as she did so. It was one of those slow, 'trying to hide it' grins, the one's that start out with a small tilt of the lips before disobediently blossoming out into a full smile and a small chuckle.


"Well then I'm damn glad I've got 'pretty cheekbones', the school's not exactly a fun house." He smirked lightly, "Though they have a terrible security system, broken out of there twice now and escaped with all my limbs." He mimicked Grace's 'pose' then, propping himself up as she has done with her hand on her chin and looking back at her, "Is this a staring competition? I bet you I'll win."


--


Grace smirked wider. "I'm sure you'd love to sit and ogle at my gorgeous completion all day. But we should probably get going. These woods will be crawling with those creeps in a matter of time. We'll need the head start like this." She gestured between the two of them and their wounds. Grace didn't really know how the wound on his back would affect their flying, but she hoped he would be okay. It was sorta her fault that he was hurt, though she wouldn't admit to that out loud. In addition to that, she was hungry as all get-out, not having eaten for around 48 hours, as she'd been on the run for a day and hadn't been fed the day before that when she was at the school as a part of a punishment. She was paying for it now, but freedom was well worth spent. Now she had an ally to make matters better.


She pushed herself off the ground slowly, expecting the rush of blood to her head, the dizziness, which she really didn't need but happened anyway. Grace swayed a moment before regaining equilibrium and steadying herself. She took a moment to assess. They were both a bit torn up, her moreso from the fight she faced when escaping, the chase, nature itself, and the fight again. Grace would have to find something sturdier sooner than later. She held out her hand and helped pull him to his feet. "Lets get a move on."


--


Alex was glad he didn't blush easily - or maybe he just didn't have any blood left to rise to his cheeks anymore - because he would have done so when she teased him lightly about staring at her. He nodded as she reminded him of their wounds and the head start they would need. "Oh yeah." He chuckled, stretching slightly, "You get so used to it after a while you kinda just forget that there's a gaping wound on your back." He wasn't kidding, he was so used to being on the run, being injured and on the run, that he sort of was used to the pains by now.


When he was helped to his feet Alex tried his best to get up without putting too much strain on Grace, he nodded, "Yeah, we could try and find some food maybe? I mean, if you've only just escaped from the school I'm guessing you're running on an empty stomach?" That was mainly an excuse for Alex to get some food too; bird kids were always hungry.


He glanced to the direction that seemed the best way to head for food, as there was a small town in the far distance, nodding towards it, "We could head into the town area quickly and grab some food? It's so early that no-one would have crept out of their comfy little beds yet, and anyone who has would just see us and think they were hallucinating from lack of sleep." He of course had no idea there was a bird kid fighting Trackers in the direction he had nodded in.


--


When Alex was in his feet, Grace didn't really bother to take a step back. She rustled her creamy-tan wings on her back, shaking them out. They were dirty, covered in a layer of dried dust and oil, from the run and escape that she'd have to wash out by hand later. Thy didn't look very impressive. They were like any other pair of wings she'd ever seen. Plus she'd never had the time to discover where her 2% of avian genes really came from.


Grace was about to take a running leap into the air, she was poised to start into her run when a noise made her freeze. A faint sound in the woods had sent her enhanced senses in an alert. A crashing sound that's she would know a where, a fight. "Did you hear that?" Grace said, taking an unconscious step closer to Alex while her eyes scanned the woods. Her wings rustled restlessly against the torn and dirty linen tunic she wore, while the dirt had washed out from her excursion in the water, the blood stains had not and we're still drying. Grace shivered slightly, even in the late autumn months, California had a chill to the air.
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Dimitri was steaming but having Lillie, who was now sobbing in his arms. His face softened and he took a deep breath, rocking between his feet slowly. He knew it was about Alex and Lillie was too intelligent for words to have any purpose to her. So he made her comfortable, knowing that was all he could do. The outburst he'd just had was unacceptable, he would have to keep his emotions under wraps. He lowered himself carefully to the ground next to Callie and Keanu. Ethan took a seat close by, cradling a still unconscious Liza.


Blaire sat besides Keanu, her arm brushing his and noticing how unnaturally cold his skin was, it just slightly cooler than her own. She was used to being "burned", usually several degrees higher than hers. Blaire took his hand and began to rub it with both of hers, she felt responsible for what happened to him. She sat quietly listening to the exchange, her blood boiling slightly thinking about how she had so willingly accepted Eliza, teaching her how to fight, trusting her with the kids. How could she be so stupid.


"What she did was unforgivable. And Liza, what about her? Her child?" Blaire said.


"So what do we do with them?" Dimitri asked, looking over her shoulder at Ethan holding Liza. "Do we separate them? What if she doesn't wake up?"


There was silence throughout the Flock.


"Dr. Akana. Thats were Eliza came from," Ethan voiced. He too had come from the doctors company, and he was hesitant about bringing it up as well. Would they think of him as a traitor too?
 
Callie leaned forward slightly, crossing her legs and resting her elbows on her knees. She then used her hands to prop up her head. Like the rest, she was tired. She looked back over at her brother for a second. He had remained quiet. He didn't seem to be in too much pain, or if he was he was doing a good job of not showing it. But then again, they had all become good at not showing pain or emotion.


"I should have seen this coming," she mumbled, talking about Eliza's betrayal. This was just another reminder of why she didn't trust anyone but her Flock anymore. And only the Flock she'd risk her life for. Her family.


"I think we should at least bring Eliza back. It's clear we can't have her around. She puts all of us in danger, and if the younger ones get hurt again..." She trails off, her eyes scanning from the two youngest girls, and then to Brinley and Dally, the next youngest. "As far as we know, she doesn't know how to track us, really. Or at least she never showed it during our time with her or during training sessions. If we leave her with Akana, she won't be able to find us." Finally, her eyes looked over at Ethan. He had come from the doctor as well, and here they were talking about bringing Eliza back to her. The thought about leaving Ethan as well only briefly entered her mind. He had proven that he was trust worth, always looking out for her and the rest of the Flock. If he was a traitor, she figured he would have done something back at the school with Eliza. It was clear that he belong here, with them. She gave him a small reassuring smile, before turning back to the others to wait for their input.


"Let's just do whatever it takes to make sure this doesn't happen again," Keanu said lowly, finally speaking up for the first time. Blaire had taken his hand and was rubbing it, he assumed as an attempt to help recirculate his body heat to normal. He leaned his head back against the tree, his eyes half closed. He hoped Blaire wasn't feeling guilty about this. As if reading her mind, he turned his head slightly to look at her. "Don't think this is your fault. You did what was necessary," He smiled weakly at her, talking quietly so he didn't disrupt the other conversation that was going on.
 
He nodded. Callie seemed to read his thoughts, the look she gave him. It was reassuring and relieving. For the first time in his short life he had found were he belonged, something, people, a cause, to fight for, to live for. He'd been frightened for a moment that it might have been taken away. But he was here to stay.


"I'll take them back." Ethan announced. "The two of them have a mind link. If Liza stays with us, Eliza could potentially find us. She can't come with us." He reiterated. "Ill take them back. Explain the situation, need-to-know. I know Dr. Akana. Liza will be in good hands, and I'm confident Eliza will be out of ours."


Blaire looked up Keanu. Despite his words she couldn't quite shake the feeling that she had hurt him. She mirrored his weary smile, hoping he could see the apology in her eyes, how much she cared for him. He'd always been there for her. They'd gone through so many years of "thick and thin".


"I just want you back to your normal self, sunshine," she whispered back. She leaned her head against his shoulder, making circles with her thumb on the back of his palm.
 
Callie nodded, looking over at the unconscious Liza. She felt bad doing this to the girl. The whole Flock had quickly come to love Liza. The fact that now they had to leave her, maybe never even see her again pained Callie. Not to mention how close Lillie was to her. Liza was the only other kid actually close to Lillie's age. Lillie had always been good about being mature and everything, but Callie could tell sometimes she got sick of being an adult. She shouldn't have had to be forced to be one so young, anyway.


Keanu's smile stayed in place as Blaire smiled back at him. He knew what she meant about him going back to his normal self. Usually right now, Keanu would be making jokes, making everyone smile. "I'll try my best," He promised, sighing contently as Blaire rubbed the back of his hand. The Flock was big on massages. At the end of a long day they would usually end up massaging each others back, right between their shoulder blades where their wings met, since that was the spot that became the most sore.


"So what do we do now?" Callie asked. After Eliza and Liza were gone, they would have to move on. The couldn't stay here, not so close to the school. They could maybe spend a night here, tops.
 
Ethan stood from his stop. "I'll leave now. I'm probably the only one who can do it; besides I'd like to get her there while she's knocked out, avoid any confrontation that should arise."


"Aren't you tired?" Dimitri asked, concern in his voice. Alex wasn't back, which was worrying him seperately, and he didn't like the idea of another Flock member going off on their own.


Ethan shook his head, "I'll be fine. I promise to be back in a few hours." He slung Eliza unceremoniously over his shoulder, but tucked Liza in the crook of his arm. He was right, he would be the only one to make the trip the boys were much too exhausted, and Ethan had a little more muscle room. Bird-kids were generally light-weight with hollow bones, not meant to carry anything heavy or of exponential size. Ethan and the mad scientist who created him seemed to defy those odd. With a short run he jumped, unfurling his wings and lifting into the sky with a dozen or so powerful strokes of his wings.


Dimitri scooted over to lean against a tree close to Callie. "I'll take the watch. Wake you when he comes back. Try to get some rest, Cal." He carefully took off his jacket one sleeve at a time and draped it over himself, mostly Lillie who was still in his arms to keep her warm while the sun set and the earth cooled.


Blaire let out a peaceful sigh. It seemed as though they would be staying here the night, recover their strength, then leave the state in the morning. So she got comfortable and closed her eyes, laying against Keanu. She let her body relax. Blaire would need some time to recuperate after a day like today.
 
Callie was about to offer to go with Ethan, but then decided against it. She was exhausted and didn't think she'd make the whole trip without ethan having to carry her as well. Not to mention she thought Ethan might want some time alone to say goodbye to the doctor and the house he called his home for a while.


She nodded when Dimitri told her to get some rest. "Wake me up if you need anything," she said, before saying goodnight and positioning herself more comfortably against the tree. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and let sleep come over her.


Keanu wasted no time in getting to sleep. While Blaire's head rested on is shoulder, he tipped his own to the side and rested his head on top of hers.


Only a few hours later, Keanu woke himself by coughing. His fit of coughing lasted a few more moments before he could finally breath. By this time, Callie was awake. He silently hoped he woken up blaire, but he had jolted himself awake and she was leaning on him. Not to mention his loud coughing.


"You okay?" He heard his sister whisper, sitting up to look at him. Keanu nodded, rubbing the side of his face. "Yeah, I think I'm alright. Just a sore throat," He shrugged, yawning. A few seconds later, Callie was rummaging through Keanu's bag. It was still slightly damp from their adventure at the school. Seconds later, she pulled out a half full water bottle. "Drink some." He did as he was told, drinking most of it before putting it back down.


He didn't know where the sudden coughing fit had come from. No that he noticed it, he was kind of feeling worse then he had earlier. His head hurt, and he still felt drained. This wasn't normal for him.
 
The sunset had quickly turned to dusk by the time Ethan got into the air. It would be about a half an hour at this speed to get to the Doctor's house. It would be dark by then and the stars would be shining. He sighed as his wings stroked down.


He watched as the lights of small villages and eventually Honolulu passed underneath him. So this was it. He'd grown to love this tropical paradise in the middle of the ocean. It had been his home for a year and a half, maybe two years. Now he had found his true home, he would be leaving, his future uncertain to him. He'd seen what life was like for them, a struggle day to day but he was willing to give up his safety here for the uncertainty of the Flock whole heartedly. Ethan soon became consumed with his thoughts, it was only a matter of time before e spotted the familiar island in the bag that the Doctor lived with her research institute. It felt like forever and a day since he'd been back there, this morning felt an eternity away from him.


He landed with a soft tap on the terrace. As he walked to the sliding glass door to the kitchen, the door opened, Dr. Akana was standing there a bright smile on her face. "Did you enjoy th...." Her face went blank as she saw Eliza laying unnaturally over his shoulder, Liza limp in unconsciousness, which generally wasn't a good start for bird-kids. "Goodness...what happened? Are you all alright, where is everyone else? Are they safe?"


Ethan nodded. The doctor stepped out of the doorway so he could come inside. "We need to talk."


--


He gave her a run down of the situation. What had happened. And assured her about a hundred times that the rest of the Flock was safe. "He didn't mention Keanu's sudden weakness, Alex's disappearance, or how of why exactly they were taken to the School, e.g. Eliza. "There are hard feelings," Ethan did say, but he didn't explain why, the doctor was clever enough not to ask, "Callie thinks its best if she is as far away from the Flock as possible.


The Doctor nodded and folded her hands in her lap. Her eyes were wet. "I'm glad to hear you all are okay... And you're leaving with them?" Ethan nodded in response. Akana smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck warmly, "I'm glad. Ethan, I'm proud of you. I never had any children... But I've always considered you my son. I remember when I found you laying on the beach. With wings no less."


"You aren't angry that I'm leaving? You'll have to find someone else to run your errands."


She smiled, "No. A little sad. Fate brought you here, now fate must take you away. Do you know where the Flock will go from here?"


"Not really, I'm sure they--we'll do the same they've always done, drift until they find a home."


A spark of light lit the Doctor's eyes. She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled on it. 'Charles Academy for the Gifted', 'Olivia Grey'. "She is a personal friend of mine and has been working a project for some years, it was only in recent light of events that she called me and finally let me in the loop hoping I would pass on the word. I assure you she is trustworthy. Evidently the Academy has been operating under the radar for about a year. Olivia said there were children like you, but she didn't care to elaborate over the phone lines. It's in Seattle, Washington."


"That's a big city...How will we find it?" Ethan said, lifting an eyebrow.


"Oh, she said it'll find you before you find it." She winked.


--


An hour and a half later Ethan was back in the night sky, he had exchanged Eliza and Liza for a backpack with some of his clothes, an extra pair of shoes--because he went through them so quickly--and a few small things, plus some food Dr. Akana insisted on taking back to the flock. So two packs, actually, one for his stuff, one for food.


They had said their final goodbyes, but before he jumped off the terrace to take to the sky, she had stopped him one last time. She took off the necklace she was wearing and reached on her tippy toes to link it around his own neck, a simple chain with a fossilized shell. "Never forget the beach," she picked up a smooth flat rock he'd helped collect for her one day they were walking on the beach themselves. "Time has a funny way of smoothing out life's roughest stones."


Those words bounced around in his head as he flew. He thought about Callie and Alex. He shook his head. Whether the other boy came back or not, Ethan would always feel the same way about Callie and would stop at nothing to protect her.


Blaire was startled awake by coughing, almost thinking that there was an attack, until she realized that it was only Keanu. From the location of the moon, it had only been about two or three hours or so since she went to sleep.


Could he get hypothermia, she wondered? Was that possible? Blaire couldn't remember the last time she had a cold. Bird kids generally didn't get sick just because they had such powerful immune systems. This was definitely making her worried.


She didn't bother asking him if he was okay, because he would just lie and tell her he was fine, and Callie was already fussing about that.


"Hey," she murmured, "Lay down." Knowing he'd fuss a little too, she nudged him, resting his head on her lap.


Ethan landed just then, setting down a pair of back packs. "Shouldn't you guys bee asleep?" He whispered, seeing that at least four of them were awake. He crouched down next to Callie, "The good doctor sends her regards, I brought food. And I need to talk to you," his voice was hushed but he glanced at the Flock still.
 
Sighing, Keanu waved off his sister and Blaire. "I'm fine, really," He muttered, but at the same time was re positioning himself so his head was in Blaire's lap like she told him to do. Lazily, he threw his arm over his eyes as he heard Ethan's voice. He had a headache now, and any noise or light was making it worse. He wasn't used to this at all, the only time he had really ever been sick was sometimes at the school when they would inject him with something potentially dangerous.


Callie was just starting to get herself comfortable again when Ethan landed a few feet in front of her. She looked at the two bags he dropped down next to him that seemed rather full. At the mention of food, she nodded. Finding enough food to keep them all sustained was usually hard, they didn't always have money to pay for a meal, not to mention just how much they all ate.


She glanced over at her brother who already seemed to have fallen asleep again, his arm starting to slide back down and his lips slightly parted. Sighing, she stood up and brushed off her jeans. "Let's talk over here," She whispered back to Ethan. She really hoped this wasn't anything bad. Especially not something bad about Alex. She had noticed that he wasn't back yet, and she didn't think any of them were in good enough condition for another rescue mission.


When they were flying to the mountains, she had spotted a small rock formation very close to where they were camping out. It only took a minute or two of walking before she reached it. Quickly scaling the rocks, she sat down and waited for Ethan to join her. "What's up?" She asked, adjusting her hoodie. It had become colder during the night.
 
They walked for a bit in silence until they came to a small overhang of rocks on the cliff. He sat on the boulder next to Callie.


"I figured it would be best to talk away from the rest of the group. I noticed its hard to make decisions around here without someone putting their two-cents in."


He folded one of his legs in so he was facing her. "Before I left, Akana gave me this," he dug the slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Charles Academy... She said that there where people there...like us. I think its a chance for something 'normal' for once in our lives. And even if that doesn't count for something, I think we should at least go to see these people..."


"She knows the headmaster and told me they'd hook us up. Shelter, food, friends. They've been up and running for a year now so low under the radar we haven't even heard of them. It's worth checking out."
 
Callie took the paper from Ethan as he passed it to her. She frowned in concentration, reading what it said. 'Charles Academy.' She definitely hadn't heard if that.


"I think we should go look. I mean, it seems legit," She mumbled, looking down at the paper again. She doubted the doctor would lie to them, she had been nothing but nice to them.


The thought of meeting other "gifted people" swam in her mind. They all of course had met other kids like them in the school, but they hadn't interacted with them much. Not to mention most of the other "experiments" didn't live long. The Flock and Erasers were the schools most successful products.


"So I guess thats where we'll head tomorrow," She said, tucking the paper in her pocket. "How are we going to find it?" She knew it wouldn't be too much of a problem, but there wasn't even an adress on the paper.
 
"See, that's the thing...she said...that the Academy would find us. I have no idea what that means..." Ethan shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.


"Besides Seattle, something about the mountains--countryside--something. I'm not really sure. I guess they stayed hidden for a reason."


"We should really get some rest. We have a long flight across the Pacific tomorrow," he said with a smile. "We have food, we have a plan. We can let the others know over breakfast." 
Can someone please post?
 
Alex held back a stumble as he got to his feet; he must have lost a lot of blood. It happened so often that sometimes he had to remind himself he was injured and needed to sort himself out. He noticed that Grace didn't move back and was incredibly proud of himself for not blushing at the close proximity. Or maybe he just had no blood left to blush with.


Alex stared as Grace opened up her wings, despite the dust and oil he did find himself awed slightly. Then again, he still had very clear memories of his younger years when he was still just 'human' and people with wings were just stories about angels and demons in story books. Grace would have been an angel in those books, even if she did have the temptations of a devil. He watched as she leapt into the air and grinned before jumping up and letting his own wings unfold. He flew up and caught up with her, giving her a sly grin as he sped alongside her, "Race ya'?" He didn't give her much time to respond as he immediately sped up past her.


He had no clue if she was as fast as Callie, faster or even slower, but he guessed now was a good time as any to find out.


(Sorry guys, been busy with Christmas stuff, I'll post for Lillie when I get a chance, maybe we should time skip to the morning? Alex won't be back yet and they can all worry before he shows up xD Oh, and if we don't speak before then, then have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :D )
 
Callie nodded at Ethans words, jumping down from the rock she was on. She waited for him. The fact that Academy would "find them" kind of gave her the feeling they were being watched, but she didn't say anything about it.


"Yeah, we'll talk in the morning. I think if anything we can at least check it out. If it's not something we like we can always leave," She shrugged, putting her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt.


((Sorry for a small post, not a lot to say. But yeah, I would have posted earlier but i've had christmas parties and stuff as well. I think we should time skip now))


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iDanceInTheRain said:
Callie nodded at Ethans words, jumping down from the rock she was on. She waited for him. The fact that Academy would "find them" kind of gave her the feeling they were being watched, but she didn't say anything about it.
"Yeah, we'll talk in the morning. I think if anything we can at least check it out. If it's not something we like we can always leave," She shrugged, putting her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt.


((Sorry for a small post, not a lot to say. But yeah, I would have posted earlier but i've had christmas parties and stuff as well. I think we should time skip now))
Click to expand...
 
Ethan was rummaging through the bag of food. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, a trickle of warmth spreading through the chill of the night air. Their doctor friend have mixed in perishable items with non so they had a variety of food to give them energy to cross the great ocean. He heard that they had taken a plane when they first come to the islands. The flight back would be a long exhausting one. They would all need to eat well if they were to have the energy to go back to the mainland.


The way the flock ate, Ethan divided up all of the food all at once. A whole backpack of food was worth one meal to them. There were fruits, protein bars, crackers, cookies, jerky, just about as close to a balanced meal the flock ever got, junk food with healthy food on the side. They needed the calories.


Dimitri awoke at the smell, the sweet aroma of fruits, a citrus-y smell wafting to him as Ethan peeled an orange open. He stopped himself from drooling, it had seemed like forever since he had food. He was so hungry he nearly forgot Lillie. He took a deep breath and and gently woke her, "Lillie, sweetie, are you hungry?" He grabbed another orange from the pile Ethan must have set out for him and began peeling it for the small girl, popping a slice in his mouth as he did, savoring the juices. It was too easy to go hungry when you were a bird kid, so they weren't picky. But when they had something good, it was good. He took a mango and protein bar and began to chow down, giving the orange slices to Lillie.


Blaire was frowning slightly. Keanu had had such a restless nights's sleep last night, only an hour or two ago had he really fallen asleep. She wanted him to get some rest, but they would be taking off soon and food was more important than sleep for them for the most part. Blaire stroked his cheek with her fingertips. She didn't want to startle him by waking him abruptly.


She looked over at her brother who was munching on breakfast. She silently thanked Dr Akana, she knew them so well. Dimitri was looking around the small clearing in which they had taken refuge. She knew what he was searching for, Blaire couldn't sense a trace of him either. Alex was still gone. She looked at Callie. They couldn't risk staying here. If Alex was still gone. That meant only a few things. That he was dead--worst case. He was captured--which wasn't likely since they wouldn't have anywhere to take him to considering their forces and facilities were demolished. That, or like he did before...he left...


She wasn't sure what they would decide. But the Flock couldn't go through a second rescue mission, no way. She hoped they would make to make a decision in the clocks best interest.
 
After Grace was in the air she allowed herself to blush a little. He raced past her, egging for a race. She was tired and exhausted, and hungry, and drained. But if there was one thing she knew for sure, she'd never lose, never let someone show her up. She gritted her teeth and stroked down hard and shot forward, overtaking Alex in about three or four pulls. A grin broke out on her face, a head of sweat on her brow. She shot a smile backwards at Alex and stuck out her tongue. She used her speed to ascend in the sky. Once she hit an altitude above the clouds she slowed down and let herself glide. They had a long trip into the mainland.


*skip*


Grace hadn't seen Los Angles before, honestly to her it wasn't that impressive, just another big city full of humans. The air was rutty and smoggy. So the descended quickly so they didn't have to breathe in too much of that shit. They landed in the wooded area behind the "Hollywood" sign. Grace collapsed on the ground. Completely exhausted. Her stomach had stopped groaning now. She felt too weak to get up again. "I feel like crap. I guess were in California, huh?" 
*ah-hem* 
*Twiddles thumbs*
 
(Sorry! I wasn't actually getting notifications for anything so I had no idea you guys had replied to this -.- I'm so awful at keeping up with stuff!)


Alex was grinning as he raced ahead, was she really slower than him? Not many of the Flock were slower than Alex; sure he was fast, but so were the others. Besides, his abilites laid more in his water control than his speed anyway. He was pleasantly surprised that he was faster, and was about to open his mouth to yell back some sort of teasing remark when Grace whooshed past him and blew back air onto his face while doing so.


Okay so she was fast.


He made eye contact with her; his own eyes wide before he broke out into a grin and followed after her. This was fun. He forgot how much fun flying could be when you weren't being chased or in danger of dying. It was nice.


Alex was pretty sure he and the Flock had been to LA at some point in their journeys, possibly not but then again all the places began to blend into one after so much time being on the run; it was all choking air and big buildings anyway so why did it matter? He landed a few seconds after Grace, hopping to get his footing for a second after seeing that the other had collapsed and just decided himself to let himself drop to sit on his butt. He chuckled at her comment and nodded, "You get used to the feeling after a while, it sort of turns into an annoying buzz in the back of your mind" He glanced around at the second half of her comment and shrugged, "I guess so. I don't really keep track, that's more Callie's job." He realised he had spoke about the other blonde without even meaning to and glanced at Grace to see her reaction. Did she like Callie? He guessed not from her earlier anger at being compared to the other. But had the other even met her?


-----


Lillie was still upset long after the others had managed to get her to settle down to sleep, and upon being shaken away she jumped and her eyes shot open, her brain instantly taking her back to being captive as she reached out to hit at her awakener with her small fists, "No stop! I---" She paused mid-fight to see it was Dimitri she was about to hit and her eyes widened once more - this time with realisation - but she stopped herself and curled in on her body to hug her knees and peek at the older boy apologetically, "Sorry..." Dimitri seemed to understand though, as he handed her a peeled orange, asking if she was hungry, and she noddded eagerly, taking the food with a small 'thank you' in response.


She finished off the orange rather quickly - bird kids were remarkably good at eating fast and eating a lot it seemed - and after licking away the orange juices left over on her fingers she glanced around to see what the others were doing. One simple look told her all she needed to know; Alex wasn't back yet. The little girl's eyes widened and she immediately turned to Dimitri, clearly beginning to get worked up already.


"Dimitri! Alex isn't back yet, what do we do? What if he got hurt!" Her voice wobbled on the last word and she bit her bottom lip as though that would stop the break-down.
 
Grace was too exhausted to shoot Alex a look of annoyance at the casual mention of the "other Grace". She just lay there for a while his words unhelpful to her. It had been days since she ate, she was surprised she hadn't crashed in the middle of the Pacific, thousands of miles of open ocean. Grace was about ready to lean over and kiss the earth. Dry land and rest. Her next priority was food. And she needed it now.


"I don't exactly have money," she said, eyes closed. "Do you?"


'You don't need restaurants. Just find a house.'


It shocked her slightly. It always came as a surprise when she heard the voice in her head. She'd learned not to question it, however. As a general rule it was always right. And it seemed to know what she wanted better than she did. 'Don't they have severity systems and crap?' Then of course there were those times were the Voice was just ridiculous.


'A minor inconvenience, but they aren't fail-safe.'


Grace was still suspicious, as she should with a disembodied Voice speaking to her in her head.


"Let's find a house. I bet a lot of people go out to eat at this time of night in this neighborhood." Grace told Alex. "I can get us around the security systems."


She held out her hand and let him help her off the ground. She spread her wings and with a short and reluctant run she was in the air with stars swimming in her vision.


"Shhh.." Dimitri cooed when Lillie startled awake. "Lillie, it's okay sweetheart." It saddened him and made him angry how the School had stollen her innocent childhood like they did. She had suffered so much. It wasn't fair to a child.


She demanded to know where Alex was, but she knew the truth. He hadn't come back yet. His mind began spinning, trying to think of words to tell her. Dimitri had his own suspicions about where Alex disappeared to. None of them he could possibly explain to a hysterical Lillie. He gave her a bottle of water and a bar of granola. Dimitri glanced around at the Flock.


"Alex is strong, Lillie. Don't you forget that." He told her calmly. "Wherever he is and whatever he's doing, he's got a plan." Including if he was captured. But Dimitri didn't think that.


Dimitri locked eyes with Callie. "But right now we have to keep moving." His eyes shifted to Keanu who looked pale and sickly. "Without Alex and Keanu we don't have the resources to go at this thing fullforce. We don't have the manpower like we did yesterday. Trying to perform a rescue operation would be suicide."


"It doesn't have to be." Blaire spoke up, glaring at him. Alex and herself hadn't exactly been on good terms when he joined their Flock years ago, but they had grown closer. Especially sharing the same power, they learned from each other. "Ethan and I could form a small infiltration team, you guys would stay under the radar, and--"


"Alex is strong." Dimitri repeated. "And he's got telepathy. Even if he was injured or captured, he's smart and he'd find a way out. He and the rest of us have done it way too many times to count."


"We can't just leave him." Blaire demanded.


"We have to trust him!"


"He's apart of our Flock!" She glanced desperately at Callie then back to Dimitri wondering where her brother had gone. It seemed like the boy she knew was completely gone, replaced by a heartless husk.


"We're weak! We're hunted! And Keanu is ill!" Dimitri was struggling to remain calm, his voice raising unintentionally. "We don't have time! We need to get out of the state and find a safe place mainland."


Ethan piped up, feeling a bit self conscious being how new he was to the Flock and all. Plus he didn't exactly get along too well with Alex. "Dimitri is right. We are out of time. It is too dangerous to linger here. We have to keep moving and get to the Academy." He already had their supplies packed and their bags gathered and Dimitri was right behind him, slinging on his pack as well.


He looked at Callie. She was their leader and their tie-breaker. "Well, what should we do?" They needed to leave, and soon. Early in the morning for a head start.
 
I believe this is very overdue. But I did say I would do this...


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Alex noted with interest that Grace didn't even give him a look after mentioning Callie, but she didn't respond positively either, so maybe she was just ignoring the comment. Don't mention Callie then; got it. She then asked about money and he frowned, reaching in his pockets as a reflex to check. He shook his head soon after, "Nope."


He lay there with her in a silence for a moment, wondering how they could get food, with no money, the only other option was stealing. Well, they could try to catch something in the woods, but that was always annoyingly difficult and he was pretty sure neither of them were up to it at the moment. He sighed and his tummy decided to rudely grumble, he was about to make a joking comment about it, but then Grace spoke up as though prompted by his stomach. He of course had no idea it was actually a completely different prompt.


He nodded at her words, wondering on the last sentence about getting around the systems. How was she going to do that? Was she good at hacking or was it something to do with her power? He shrugged the questions away - bird kids tended not to question if it meant they could get food - and gratefully took her hand to get up. "Yeah sure, sounds good." He watched as she took off, letting his own wings spread only seconds after and shooting off to follow beside her.


"Got a specific place in mind or will any old house do?"


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


When Dimitri tried to calm her down, it seemed to work on the outside, her shaking starting to cease and her teeth gnawing at her bottom lip to keep herself from crying, but on the inside she was freaking out. What if he had been hurt? What if the school had got him and were punishing him for the others all getting away? What if he was..what if they had..


No. Alex was strong. He was strong. Dimitri's words comforted the small child. She numbly took the bottle of water he gave her and the bar, opening it on autopilot mode and gnawing at instead of her sore lip. She glanced up at Dimitri when he spoke to her about Alex, her eyes still watery from the threat of tears. His calm tone seemed to soothe her slightly and she nodded, still looking worried. Dimitri was right, Alex is strong. He has a plan. He has to have a plan. She barely heard his next words about moving, still trying to comfort herself by repeating the mantra in her head. Alex is strong. He has a plan. He has to have a plan. Alex is strong. He has a plan. He has to have a plan. Alex is strong. He has a plan. He has to have a plan.


Her mantra was immediately halted as Blaire spoke, her sharp eyes darting over to look at the girl. It doesn't have to be. A small hope sparked in her chest. They could rescue Alex? She knew if it was just her asking then they'd all say no and not listen. She was just a kid. No-one listens to kids. But Blaire's small plan was cut off by Dimitri repeating that Alex was strong. He made a good point about telepathy but..wouldn't he have contacted Lillie if he got in trouble? He always told her when things were happening. The only time something bad had happened and Alex hadn't contacted her was when he left---


Blaire and Dimitri's arguing faded into the background as Lillie went stiff, her eyes widening before suddenly glazing over, going cold. Alex wasn't coming back, was he? Her eyes began to water rapidly, threatening to spill, and a few drops of liquid managed to escape before she wiped them away furiously. How could he do this, again? She thought so had made it clear before, she NEEDED him. She knew Alex thought he was a burden, she wasn't stupid just because she was little. She knew Alex got worried that the Flock got hurt because he made mistakes, but they all made mistakes. He always blamed himself for everything and now he'd gone and ran off again because he decided that it'd be better for all them.


How dare he. Lillie was furious, she was angry and she was HURT. How could he just leave her, leave the Flock like that just because he thought they'd be bettter off? Had he even ASKED what Lillie thought? No. The stupid idiot had just decided he knew what was best just because he was the biggest and therefore the smartest. Alex wasn't coming back. That hurt, a lot. But Dimitri was right, if Alex was going to be stupid and run away then why should they get hurt trying to save someone who doesn't want to be saved.


"We can't just leave him."


"We have to trust him!"


"He's apart of our Flock!"


"We're weak! We're hunted! And Keanu is ill!"


"We don't have time! We need to get out of the state and find a safe place mainland."


"Dimitri is right. We are out of time. It is too dangerous to linger here. We have to keep moving and get to the Academy."


Lillie stood up then, feeling numb and not realising she looked pretty numb as well, her eyes were closed off as she looked to Blaire. "They're right Blaire, we gotta go. Alex--" She paused then, as if she needed a moment, "Alex can look after himself." She folded her arms across her chest. "If he was in trouble, he would have told me, or Callie, or someone. And, he hasn't." Her voice cracked on the last word, as if she knew something they didn't, and she bit her lip for a second before turning away from Blaire and going over to Dimitri, she grabbed her own pack - her declaration that she was going as well - and slipped it on, standing close to Dimitri and even reaching out to take his hand as though he were her support.


If Alex wanted to leave then fine. Lillie wasn't going to stop him.


(It's fine for the Flock to infer that Lillie has figured out that Alex has left them by the way, or if they don't believe that he's left themselves then they can guess that's what Lillie thinks. It's just because Dimitri seems to have guessed as well)
 
When he asked if she had somewhere specific in mind, Grace made a face. "Uh...No."


"I'm waiting for it."


She waited for him to ask her what she meant. "You know...it."


"Like...I don't know...I'll know it when I see it, I guess."


They flew over the posh mansions of Hollywood Hill.


Several minutes passed as the circled overhead. Grace didn't exactly keep track of time. The date wasn't exactly important to her when there was the possibility if dying each and every day. But she was pretty sure it was the weekend. Meaning all these rich important people would be out on the town, leaving their big fancy houses dark and empty.


It shouldn't be too hard to find one.


"There!" Grace said pointing at a house. It wasn't the largest mansion, nor the smallest. It had a big pool, though--Grace didn't know if that was significant or not. Not sure how she knew it was the one, she tried not to think about that too much.


She banked towards Alex, hovering above him since it was a bit difficult for bird kids to go side by side unless their wings were perfectly in sync. Usually they weren't. It was easier to go above. "Looks like there are motion sensors around the perimeter, and usually if they are on the ground they aren't in the air. Let's try the roof. These houses usually have massive fireplaces."


She tapped lightly down on the roof, "Hmm," Grace murmured. "It's going to be a squeeze." She pulled off the hood and etc that keeps the animals out. Grace jumped down, her wings pulled tight against her back. She used her shoes to slow down her fall slightly before she landed in the logs and ash. She stepped out of the wide fireplace covered in soot and feeling like Harry Potter.


It was dark, as it was now night time. And no sign of a dog. She listened for a second for any sound of someone in the house but she hadn't seen any lights on from outside. Grace turned back to the fireplace, "Clear."


She began to walk through the house, tracks of soot behind her, but not caring because anyone would know there had been an intruder from the dent they would make in the kitchen.
 
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