Ela
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As I lay on a couch in Akira’s living room reflecting the day’s events, I began to wonder if this had all been a huge mistake. I had been doing fine on my own, right? At least when I was running from city to city, I hadn’t needed to worry about some group of mysterious scientists wanting my head for a trophy.
Yet, somehow, I felt at ease here with this club. I couldn’t really figure out why--I just did. Maybe it was because I now knew that there were others like me who had gone through much worse crap than myself, but were still somehow willing to entrust their lives to the others.
Or maybe it was just because--after finishing all the repairs, of course--Akira had a d*mn nice house.
At least I had hopefully gotten off on the right foot with the club. I really didn’t want to make enemies with things like wyverns or werewolves or… bunny girls. Especially not if I was going to be staying with them for a looong time. Helping Akira with that chandelier had to count for something, right? Okay, so maybe calling that one girl a vegetable wasn’t the greatest idea… but come on! She was GREEN.
Sighing, I looked at an old clock on the wall and noticed how late it was getting. Most of the club had to be asleep by now. I figured that maybe I should join them and rest up for whatever ‘adventures’ tomorrow held. I got up from the squishy couch and ascended the mansion’s massive staircase. Upon reaching the top of the first flight, I realized that I hadn’t seen Sam since we chose our rooms. I decided it would probably be a good idea to check up on the blonde to make sure he didn’t do something stupid, like wear meat-scented aftershave or get a dastardly paper cut.
I walked down the hallway until I found Sam’s door. After standing there for a good five minutes and deciding whether it was worth it or not, I took a deep breath in and knocked.
And then waited.
… And waited.
Wasn’t it common courtesy to open your door when someone knocked? Maybe he was already asleep. Still, some sort of acknowledgement would have been nice.
I cursed under my breath. Why did I care so much about this human, anyway? Twenty-four hours ago, I had no clue who this guy even was. And now, I had convinced him to join me in some mythical club miles away from his home. Was I going soft or something? Perhaps I was just taking pity on the helpless human. Either way, there was no way to go back on what I had done.
Curiously, I turned the ornate doorknob and the door opened with ease, revealing the room inside. The blonde was not in his bed, and the doorway leading to the balcony was open. I poked my head out into the brisk night air and saw the blonde boy sitting on a deck chair, cigarette in hand, looking out over the forest. His face was clean and freshly shaven, and he was wearing a different set of clothing than before.
“You’re going to get lung cancer,” I called from the doorway.
Sam shrugged, still facing the woods. “Bad habit, I suppose.”
I racked my brain for some form of social ability. “May I sit?” I asked through my teeth.
The boy smiled and nodded. I took a seat in a chair adjacent to him and the two of us sat in silence for a few minutes.
“The view is beautiful here.” Sam said finally. I followed his gaze into the forest. Thousands of green trees stood accompanied by sweeping hills, sharp rock formations, and millions of glittering stars in the sky above. I could hear the sounds of running water in the distance, presumably from a small creek.
“Eh, it’s okay.” I scoffed.
Sam laughed. “Well, sorry that I’ve lived in suburbia and the city for my entire life and haven’t been able to, y’know, fly over this kind of stuff all the time.”
He had a point, I guess. I had been seeing vast areas of trees since I was young--They were nothing more than giant globs of leaves to me now. Meanwhile, Sam had probably only seen trees in this amount in pictures and school field trips. I snorted. “It gets old pretty fast, believe me.” I watched the blonde as he lifted his cigarette to his lips. “You really shouldn’t do that.” He raised an eyebrow at me as the acrid smell forced its way into my nostrils. “It smells terrible and Akira hates cigarettes.”
The teen paled at the mention of the werewolf leader.
“Yeah, she might bite your face off if she catches you with them,” I continued innocently.
Sam winced, and his face grew even whiter. He quickly snuffed out his cigarette on an old ashtray that he must have found during cleanup. “H-have I ever mentioned that I have a deathly fear of sharp objects and becoming someone’s lunch?” he stuttered, referring to his conversation with Akira during the flight from Atlanta.
This put me into hysterics. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding the club all day?” I choked out between laughs. Apparently the boy had not been expecting so many mythological creatures with claws, fangs, and carnivorous tendencies to be a part of this club. “Look, none of the club members are going to eat you,” I said after calming myself down a bit. “I promise to make sure of that.” …Did I really just say that?
At my words, the blonde smiled and seemed to relax, and took to looking up at the stars through the canopy of trees. We sat in silence once again and I began to focus on the voices of the whippoorwills that were perched nearby. There was an old legend that said that these birds were an omen of death. I didn’t take much stock into folktales, but there was something eerie about this one once I realized how often I heard their song…
Eventually, I let out a huge yawn as I began to feel exhaustion set in. “Well, um, goodnight,” I said quietly as I stood up from my chair. “Don’t hole yourself up here tomorrow, or else.” I threatened teasingly, making a clawing motion with my hand.
Smirking, the boy retorted, “I suppose I wouldn’t want to get another visit from the big bad bird girl, would I?”
My violet eyes narrowed. “Watch it, human,” I hissed. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.” And with that, I turned and left Sam alone on his balcony once more. Once I was in the hallway, I gave myself a few muted slaps on my cheeks. Oh man, I was going soft. What was that out there?
Mentally groaning, I made my way to my own room on the third floor. As I had showered earlier in the evening, I merely threw myself face-first onto the plush bed upon entry. I breathed in the sickeningly fresh scents of fabric softener as I let the bed conform to my body.
My own bed. I hadn’t had my own bed since my days with my foster parents. Sure, I had slept on old mattresses that had been dumped in alleys, but it wasn’t the same.
Blissfully, I soon fell asleep, experiencing the best night of sleep I had had in a very long time.
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In the morning, I awoke to sounds of chatter and the aroma of breakfast. I checked a clock. 9 AM. I had never slept this late. Not wanting to miss the chance of gaining another full stomach, I groggily jumped out of bed and walked down the stairs, narrowly avoiding falling down them once or twice.
As I walked into the kitchen and took a seat, most of the conversation quieted and I felt most eyes turn towards me. My hair couldn’t be that much of a mess this morning, could it? I grabbed a plate and piled it with food, still feeling a few pairs of eyes trained on me.
Oh, that’s right. I was the new kid. But not only was I the newbie, I was the newbie who had brought a human with me. I looked at the creature sitting across from me. I remembered him from yesterday--He had wanted to help repair the chandelier, but his wing was injured. His name was Griffin, I believe? His amber eyes met mine in the middle of him taking a bite of his cereal and he froze, spoonful of Lucky Charms hanging in midair.
“What,” I snapped. “Are you just going to sit there and wait for your milk to curdle into yogurt or something?”
Griffin looked at me peculiarly and went back to eating. A few snickers erupted from the other end of the table. The atmospheric tension dissolved shortly, and people returned to their conversations. The blue-haired girl next to me struck up a conversation with me about tea and Victorian fashion. She was extremely polite, and her crimson eyes lit up in shock when she realized that she had not introduced herself to me yet. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” she apologized. “Where are my manners? My name is Colette Marie Duncan.” She smiled politely, revealing a set of fanged vampire teeth.
I smiled back at her. “Ela.” I decided that Colette wasn’t terribly annoying, despite her over-politeness. Maybe I could count on her? There had to be someone in this club that I could trust.
About that time, Sam appeared at the threshold, looking nervous and extremely hungry. We made eye contact and I darted my eyes between the blonde and an empty chair, motioning for him to sit. He warily obeyed, taking a seat by bunny-girl Karin and a brunet, black-winged young man. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I continued eating. I saw him glance in my direction a few times, probably making sure that my promise was truthful. Finally, the boy seemed to relax and began to join in the small talk with the members around him, his eyes brightening as he realized there truly was no danger.
I was still amazed at how civil the creatures were towards each other. From what I had learned throughout my travels, most of these species should have been at each others’ throats right now. Instead, they were all sitting here having a peaceful breakfast. Some talked about trivial things, while others were engrossed in deep conversations about themselves. As I had done so much traveling and was actually from the country, a few of the members questioned me about what the famous cities were like. New York. Chicago. Las Vegas. They listened attentively as I answered their questions and I felt as though I had purpose, if only for a while.
After most of the food was devoured, the others began to excuse themselves from the table. I soon finished my meal and joined them. I decided that I wanted to explore the area around the mansion today to see what was around, or where some good flying spots were. Akira had said that the house was in a remote location, so the chances of being spotted by anyone but club members was small. I walked outside and began to search for a nearby clearing in the trees, eventually deciding that above the house was the only way.
I unfurled my wings, catching the attention of a few members that had come outside as they were hit by the updraft. Oops. Taking a hair tie from my wrist, I pulled my still bedraggled red hair back into a tight ponytail and leapt off the ground.
Instinctively, my wings began to flap as I ascended into the sky. Once I passed the treetops, I stopped climbing and hovered for a moment to try to figure out which way to go first. Further up the mountain looked promising. I began to fly in that direction, letting the air currents carry me. Once I had reached what I assumed to be a high enough altitude, I stopped flying and perched myself on a large rock jutting out of the side of a cliff.
Below me was an expanse of lush trees and hills. Far off in the distance, I could see a river as well as a few small towns. The Blue Ridge Mountains were certainly one of the more attractive mountain ranges of the country--Er, not that I found them ‘pretty’ or anything--distinguished by their blue hued appearance. I had been through this area various times, but I had never given myself a chance to explore it. I searched my memory, vaguely remembering an old song popular in the surrounding regions.
Oh, Shenandoah, I hear you calling…
I hummed the tune quietly to myself as I sat on the ledge. It was peaceful up here. I decided that this rock was going to be my own special place for as long as the club remained at the mansion. No one else would know about it. I closed my eyes and took in a breath of fresh air as I allowed the sun to warm my wings. A rush of pleasure swept through me as the warmth spread over them and I could feel myself smiling as I stretched backwards to fully embrace the sensation.
To my disappointment, the rock eventually grew scorching hot from the sun’s heat and I thought it best to leave before I got sunburned, as the overhead sun told me that the afternoon was lurking. I took one look back at my hideaway and then soared off of the cliff and returned to Akira’s mansion.
Landing softly on the ground, I tucked my wings away and walked towards the entrance. The green girl whom I had called a vegetable the previous day sat on the porch, intricately decorating a small flower pot. I figured that we had not gotten very good first impressions of each other, but in this moment, I had no desire to play the nice one.
“Hey, Veggie Girl.” I called as I walked by.
The white-haired hybrid looked up and as soon as she realized who was approaching, her face fell into a frown. “My name is Acacia.” she hissed and muttered something in French that I did not understand, but from her tone realized that it was probably an insult.
I stopped and looked at her threateningly. “What was that?”
“Oh, nothing,” Acacia responded icily. “I just said that you were un méchant, grossier oiseau.” I was going to pretend I knew what that meant. I began to say something, but plant girl cut me off. “Je n'ai pas de temps pour être petitement insulté par vous. Au revoir.” she spat. Well, I understood that last part, at least. I eyed the young woman carefully as she quickly gathered up her supplies, stood up, and shoved past me to the doorway.
Sighing sadly, I took a seat on the top step and hunched over with my chin resting in my hands.
This whole socialization thing was not my forte.
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I started writing this before we got the new prompt, so I figured I’d just put the two together. xD
Instead of tern wings, maybe I should give Ela whippoorwill wings just to freak her out all the time? PERHAPS SYMBOLISMMMM. -shot-
Also, for those of you wondering what the title has to do with anything... "Daughter of the Stars" is a translation of Shenandoah. xD
