Kai glided upon the winds. She spread her wings out wide and soared high into the air. She never felt so free in her entire life. She felt that she could stay up in the clouds forever. ‘Is this why Anita liked to float around.' She reflected. It was so peaceful as she let the winds carry her higher into the sky. After a time she decided to come down. Below she found her foster home and dove down to land upon the roof. She crawled across the shingles until she found her window. Grateful to see it still opened she climbed in only to have her wings get caught on the window frame. She twisted and managed to get one of the smaller wing through the window and her right leg only to find herself even more stuck then before. "Oh come on." She growled at the wings while pulling on the feathers, "Please work with me." She pleaded, but the more she struggled the more she worried that someone might hear her, "Why is it that I had to have six wings of all things?" She wondered when she felt someone watching her. She spun her head around to find Ashley sitting upon the top bunk of her bed, "How did you get in here?" She asked the albino. The girl jumped down from her spot and crossed the room with her arms crossed behind her back. She examined the situation then pointed that Kai's wings and smiled. "Your willing to help me?" Kai asked a tad sceptical. For some reason she sensed she could understand what this girl was trying to say. Ashley nodded and her smile brightened. She walked around behind Kai and started to work at one wing after another. With some effort the two girls managed to free each wing. When the final wing came free Kai fell through the window to the ground. Ashley ran around the girl and looked under the wings until she found Kai. Kai looked up at the girl with a sheepish grin on her face, "I must look so graceful right now." She commented. Ashley offered her hand, which Kai took, and helped her to her feet. Kai's wings were so large that they bent along the low slanting ceiling. She looked up at the wings then over at her tiny bed. "This is just not going to work. There has to be something I can do about these things." Ashley tugged on Kai's shirt causing her to face the girl. She placed her hands together in front of her chest and closed her eyes, then opened them and smiled at Kai. Kai cocked her head in curiosity of what the girl was trying to say. She mimicked the girl's movements and closed her eyes. The image of the winged tattoo appeared before her eyes as it did when she looking into Ashley's eyes. But she didn't feel fear this time. There was something calming about it this time. The image slowly faded away and when Kai opened her eyes she saw Ashley smiling brightly at her. She pointed above Kai. Kai looked up to see the wings were glowing then faded away leaving only a few remaining feathers floating in the air. Each feather weakened and vanished before landing upon the floor, "Wow... How did you know that?" She asked the girl in astonishment. Ashley simply smiled and shrugged then skipped over to the bed and sat upon the bottom bunk and continues to smile at Kai. Kai only shook her head, "You are one strange girl." She remarked then looked at her right hand and the tattoos cover it, "Mind you I guess I'm pretty strange too. What is with these tattoos?" She looked at herself in the mirror, "I look like I'm a punk rocker or something. Wait!" She spun around so the back of her torn shirt was facing the mirror and saw that now a tattoo of the she saw in her mind covered her entire back, "Does that mean... That I'm a Sister of Death?" She puzzled and shook her head in shock then glanced over at Ashley, "Would that trick work for these too?" She inquired pointing at the tattoos. Ashley shrugged and her face grew long as if she was saddened by the prospect. Kai gave the girl an odd face, "Do you like these?" She remarked. Ashley quickly nodded and smiled again. Kai turned and looked at herself in the mirror again, "I admit that some of them are cool looking but I can't go around like this. Mrs. Mathews would kill me." She closed her eyes and wished there was a way to make the tattoos disappear. When she opened them the tattoo began to seep backwards into her eyes. She was startled as the dark lines appeared to be moving under her eyelids only to discover that there was no pain. She peered down at her arm to see those tattoos were also moving back up her burnt sleeve. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her image in the mirror when she noticed something very odd about her teeth. She opened her mouth to see that her top canines and first premolars were pronounced, like some strange vampire. She ran her tongue along her fangs and looked closely at her eyes. While the right irus had returned to it's natural light blue the left remained a glowing yellow. She closed her eyes and opened them again to find that now the right eye was yellow and the left one blue. She blinked a few times to see the colours switch places with every time she closed her eyes. "What gives here?!?" She growled at her refection, "This is driving me insane. Why do other magical girls gain a breast size and shorter shirts while all I get is fangs, different coloured eyes and wings that tear my clothes to shreds?" She ranted in frustration. There was a soft rapping at the door that interrupted Kai's rambles. Ashley got to her feet and opened the door to allow Cindy to enter the room, "Mrs. Mathews want to speak with you." She said to Ashley, then turned to leave when she noticed Kai standing there, "I didn't know you were home." She said shyly then noticed something was different about Kai. She entered the room more and approached the girl causing Kai to take a step backwards. Cindy looked deep into Kai's eyes and gave her a knowing smile, "I thought so... you are one of us after all." She said with a grin, "Mrs. Mathews is angry so you should leave before she finds you are home." She nodded towards the window and turned around to leave the room. "Thanks Cindy." Kai said as she watched Ashley and Cindy leave together. Quickly she stripped off the ruined shirt and pulled on a new one before climbing back out the window. She had done this many times before and found it rather easy. She slid down the shingles until she came to the edge of the roof and leapt off. It wasn't very high and Kai never once hurt herself. Now with her new power she was even less afraid. She just hoped that her wings didn't suddenly decide to spring out again and tear yet another shirt. She landed softly and let out a sigh of relief when her wings didn't appear. She run to the front door and opened it. "So you finally return." Mrs. Mathews stated angrily, "Where in lords name have you been? The school declared you missing around lunch hour. You'd better have a good explanation." "I went for a walk." Kai explained while entering the house, "I told you I didn't belong there." Although now she was beginning to wonder if someone at the school knew more about her then she did. "You are so impossible at times." Mrs. Mathews remarked and turned away from the girl, "Well you are just on time then. It would seem since I took in one child of the Western Woods it was decided that I'd be able to handle two of you. I'd like you to meet your new roommate, Ashley." Kai stumbled into the room, "Ashley?!?" It suddenly made sense to her way the girl was in her room. Anita did say that the girl was from the woods and still, "I thought she had a home? I mean I saw her at school today and everything." "Her old family found her too strange so she lives here now." Mrs. Mathews let out a sigh of frustration, "My house is filling with nothing but degenerates that no one wants." She stated as she left the room. Ashley bowed her head in shame and Cindy patted the girl on the shoulder. The two smiled at each other as if some strange silent bond had formed between them. "Well I'm glad to see you have found a friend, Cindy." Kai commented kicking off her shoes, "You two are good for each other." She nodded in approval when there was a knocking at the door, "I've got it." She opened the door to find Anita standing on the porch with Kai's backpack in hand. "Kai!!!" Anita exclaimed, tears brimming in her eyes. She threw her arms around Kai and hugged her tightly, "I thought you were dead." She mumbled into the girl's shoulder, "Where were you? They found your bag pack on the roof and I was so worried." "I'm alright." Kai replied, "Everything is just fi-" Kai felt something deep inside of her shift, her right arm twitched and her fangs ache. She let go of Anita and stared into the girl's tear filled eyes. Her mouth quivered and she licked at her lips. She quickly lowered her eyes from the girl's. "Kai?" Anita became concerned for her friend, "What happened to your ey-" Mrs. Mathews poked her head out of the kitchen, "Why Anita so good to see you. Come in, Come in." She looked down at Kai who was slightly trembling, "Why don't you invite your friend in? Sometimes I wonder about you child. Why can you be more like Anita here? She is smart and intelligent. You should try to follow after her example." Anita blushed lightly, "I'm not all that." She faked modesty. Kai grabbed Anita by the arm and turned her head away from everyone, "We are going to do some homework, alright?" She pulled Anita into the house and closed the door after her. "Kai?" Anita inquired confused by her friends actions. Kai was never interested in studying before unless it was something personal. She then noticed Ashley standing near the stairs with Cindy, "Ashley?!? What are you doing here?" A pang of jealousy wove its way through the girl's heart. "She is staying with us now." Mrs. Mathews replied, "If you like you can stay for dinner too. I'll make enough for everyone." "Thanks." Anita called out behind her as Kai dragged the girl across the living room and up the stairs with Cindy and Ashley right behind them. Kai pulled Anita into her room and sat the girl upon her bed then rushed to the other side of the room. Ashley closed the door after Cindy entered and sat beside Anita, smiling up at her. Anita return the girl's smile with a nervous one, "Kai, what is going on here?" She probed, worried about her friend. Kai clenched at her chest and held onto the window sill. Her arm felt as if it was on fire and her teeth ached something furious, "No... not now... I promised her..." She pleaded with her body. Trying to command it to not take her over again. Anita got to her feet, "Kai?" She stepped forwards to have Ashley reach out and touch her hand. She looked down at the pale girl to see Ashley had fear in her eyes and was shaking her head violently. She turned back to Kai, "Why won't you let me help you?" She asked ignoring Ashley's protests and approaching the girl. Kai looked at her reflection in the glass of the window to see the tattoos were yet again spreading across her face. She slammed her eyes shut, "Stay away from me!!" Kai screamed. There was fear and frustration in her words. Anita staggered backwards for a moment, "Kai, what is the matter with you?" She moved closer, "Why won't you look at me?" She suddenly grabbed Kai by the arms and spun her around to look into Kai's fear filled eyes, "Kai, your eye?" She was startled by what she saw. Kai looked away from Anita to see herself in the mirror again. The tattoos had yet again retreated and Kai let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, it is just that eye again." She muttered. "What happened to her your eye?" Anita asked frantically. She let go of her friend's arm and put her hand to her mouth, "Did... did a Sister touch you?" She asked in terror. "You could put it that way." Kai said with a exhausted sigh. "She is one of them. One of us." Cindy suddenly piped up with a broad smile on her face, "I knew she had to be. I could feel it." She placed a hand upon her chest, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "What the hell are you going on about?" Anita probed the girls, "What are these two doing here anyway? Did you tell them about what happened and not me?" "Ashley is now under the care of Mrs. Mathews and shared my room." Kai explained with a deep breath, "Cindy... well..." She looked at the girl and shrugged, "I have no idea what is with her." Anita shook her head in frustration, "Why do you keep dodging my questions?" She grabbed Kai by the shoulders, "What is wrong with you?" She demanded. Kai's body overflowed with the same sensation as before only more intense then before, "I- Said- Stay- Away!!!" She snarled as she doubled over and toppled to the ground. "Kai!!!" Anita dropped to her friend's side and tried to hold her only to have Kai push her away. Kai suddenly lifted her head to glare at Anita. Streams of black tears run down her face and her fangs where beared, "Don't you understand?!" She sobbed, "I am the death you fear so dearly." She grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled it up just as her wings burst forth and once again filled the room. Anita scrambled backwards until her back hit the dresser, "I don't want to take you." Kris cried as she curled up in a ball, "But this body..." She let out a deep sob and curled into a ball. Suddenly there was a light tapping at the window. The Kai looked up to see Poe sitting on the sill tapping on the window frame, "Poe..." She wiped at her eyes as she curiously watched as the bird jumped off the sill. It hopped over to Kai and looked her in the eyes. "What is a crow doing here?" Anita asked frightened by the black bird. Kai got to her knees and picked up the bird, "He is not a crow. He is a raven." She stated petting the bird. Ashley and Cindy crossed the room and carefully knelt to pet the raven. The bird rubbed it's head against Cindy's hand causing the girl to giggle in glee. Anita closed her eyes against the image before her, "This can't be happening." She stated shaking her head in dismay, "How can you be one of the Sisters of Death? You were hit by a car and knocked out cold. Nothing is supposed to be able to do that to a Death Angel." Kai looked up at her wings, "I don't know what happened but I want to know." Suddenly Poe fluttered his wings and broke free from Kai's hands. He flew to the window sill and turned to the girls, "Follow me. Follow me." It cawed. Then flew out the window. Kai jumped to her feet and ran to the window to see the raven glide down to the street where he landed upon the shoulder of the same girl that Kai saw on the roof, "Who?" She asked aloud and squinted down the road at the girl, "Brenna?" "Brenna?!?" Anita got to her feet and tried to find her way around Kai's wings, "The guardian of the Western Woods? She who will guide those to salvation or death?" She finally found the window and looked out to see the girl with the raven turn and started to walk down the road, "Is that really her? Where is she headed?" Kai looked down the road, "The Western Woods..." She muttered. She turned around to run after the girl only to find her wings caught on the ceiling again. Sighing in frustration she closed her eyes and concentration. The wings and tattoos again faded away. "That is amazing." Anita remarked in astonishment as her eyes followed one of the glowing feathers as it drifted to the dresser and vanished. She looked up in time to see a portion of the tattoos on Kai's back before the girl fixed her shirt. "Come on." Kai demanded, "We have to catch up to her." The group of girls ran out of the room and down the stair to find their shoes. "Where are you all off too?" Mrs. Mathews asked curiously, "Dinner will be done in a few hours." "We are just going to the park." Kai lied as she hastily pulled on her shoes, "We'll be back in a few." She flung open the door and stepped out onto the patio to see Brenna fading in the distance, "Come on." She urged. Anita stumbled out the door while still pulling on her second shoe, "Is she still there?" She inquired looked around. "I saw her disappear down the road." Kai replied as she ran out onto the lawn. "Wait for us!" Cindy called out as she held Ashley's hand tightly and the two of them came fumbling out of the house. "Make sure you are all back in time for Dinner!" Mrs. Mathews called out after the girls as they ran down the street towards their new destiny. **** To be continued **** Note: The world of the shadowlands, Its stories, Characters and ideas are a copyright of Kathryn K Williams. This story is based upon my manga of the same name. If you wish visit my site and see some of the art based on this series. Also if you spot any typos or other errors please contact me.
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