Welcome to the rewrite of Like Birds of a Feather. I know that this has been in the making for a very long time, and I'm not going to lie to you guys, it won't become completed for a long time – it's a pet project that will be slowly updated, rewritten (completely, not just revised), and fixed up as I write my other fanfictions.

I am hoping that as I work on this a bit more, change the tone of it a bit, clean up sentence structure and vocabulary, I might find my inspiration for it once more. However, my go-to for weekly writing sections will continue to be Harry Potter and the Survival of Ark, my crossover between Harry Potter and ARK: Survival Evolved.

But, without further ado, a few final notes, and then Chapter One.

I do not own Maximum Ride, Twilight, any of the characters, plots or settings with in those individual stories, however Feather is a delightful little character of my own creation and love, and I am insanely possessive over her – please do not try to steal her, nor this story line. Thank you.

Chapter One

Edward Cullen, my vampire 'mate', stood in front of me, his rambling lecture seeming to go on without any sign of slowing down or stopping. My eyes had long since narrowed, and I had stopped listening a good ten and a half minutes ago. His topic of choice, for today's rant (this was a daily thing, sadly)? My vulnerability, the entire lecture was around how vulnerable I was, how easily I could get hurt. Of course, for such a rant to fall on today . . . I had a sneaking suspicion he had heard about me going out to visit with Jacob last weekend . . . I was just relieved he was being smart, and not mentioning that small fact as proof of what could happen.

Either way though, it was the same lecture as any other time my safety got brought up, the same lecture-turned-rant that was brought up all-the-freakin'-time. My patience for it had long disappeared. I've heard enough times, that if asked, I could probably recite it back to you. Complete with his facial expressions and every hand motion and shift in body language he used. It was a common lecture, a favorite for him to bring up . . . and you want to know the funniest part of it all? These thoughts, beliefs, "facts" on how fragile I am . . . we'll they're completely wrong.

I sigh softly, turning my attention away from him, and trying to keep my sign from being loud enough for any vampire to hear (even with their annoying super-vampire hearing in play). I glanced around at his . . . my vampire family, taking in their expressions to this familiar lecture-turned-rant. I couldn't help but be amused, watching their own expressions.

Alice was trying desperately not to laugh, a look that went from humorous to hysterical when she bit her lip in silence, and rolled her eyes at me. Behind her was Esme, who was shaking her head in exasperation, while Carlisle was smirking from his spot next to the motherly vampire. Emmett was perched on a chair, his arms around Rosalie (who was in his lap, as always), and looking completely bored, like he'd rather be out doing something fun – a feeling I could relate to. The feeling was doubled when I saw his wistful glance to the TV behind Edward, and the controller tapping against his leg. Rosalie wasn't paying any attention, staring in a random direction, ignoring me, and everyone else in the room. Jasper, who had been playing on the computer and not listening (lucky him) turned towards me at that moment, giving me a sympathetic smile.

The smile was enough for me to realize the empath was beginning to feel my annoyance, and as I sent the blonde vampire a 'save me' look (that the rest of his family saw as well), the clan of blood-suckers had to hide the chuckles and giggles behind their hands.

"Bella, are you listening to me? I'm being serious here! Bella?" I didn't respond right away, not quite realizing I was being spoken too, Bella? . . . Oh, wait, right . . . shit, that's the name I'm using here! So, this might be a bit of a surprise . . . but my name isn't really Bella. It's Feather. Quite a unique story as to how I got it, too. One that amused my family, my real one, that is; when I finally took the time to explain my reasoning behind choosing it. They hadn't been able to contain their laughter.

Growing up, for me, was a bit different than your normal childhood experience. I lived in a . . . special community of scientists that kind of . . . well, let's refer to it as 'supervised' my family and me. They didn't care for us much, and we weren't given some of the basic things many children received . . . like a name. We had numbers instead, and when we weren't referred to by those numbers, they trended towards derogatory nicknames. Some of the ones used with me was 'Feather' Girl, or 'Feather'ed Freak. Oh, you can't forget the Weird 'Feather'ed Kid. Well, I think you get where I'm going with that. I kinda decided I liked the name Feather, and so . . . I kept it.

I wasn't the only one to name myself, though, my entire family did. We all named ourselves, wanting to have something of our own. We might not have the most . . . normal of names, but they were something that belonged to us, they were precious to us. Though, all this reminiscing . . . it was really making me start to miss my family, a lot. It's hard going from being constantly surrounded by them (you literally don't get a second by yourself), waking up to my brother's 'girlfriend' shrieking in our ears, the sound bombs exploding when two of our members were experimenting, the 'baby's' joyous laughter; to a sudden silence and loneliness. But, my self-exile was almost over. I had found what I was looking for, inside myself, and soon I'd be back with them. We'll live the rest of our lives together, helping max with the whole 'save the world' thing. It'd all go back to normal.

So, I'm guessing your even more confused by this point, right? I'm sure you've guessed by now that Charlie isn't my real father. There's no blood relations, of any kind, between him and I. He was just a scientist who had felt bad for us 'feathered freaks' and when I asked if he'd take me in for a short time, he agreed. Really, there is a lot about me, about my 'life' that isn't true. I'm not the person everyone seems to think I am.

Heck, I'm not even completely human! I'm not a clumsy little 'weakling,' nor someone who needs to be protected at all times. I can take care of myself, everyone in my family can! My flock, we are the exact opposite of weak and pathetic, and we'd be more than happy to prove it to anyone who thought otherwise. "Yes, I'm listening, Edward," Just not right now. I'm still lying about it all . . . I have to. For now, I keep my voice as calm as I can, being careful not to express any of the thoughts flying through my mind.

Edward snorted softly, the volume was supposed to be too low for my human hearing, but as I said – he doesn't actually know anything about me. There's a reason he can't make his way into my mind. You had to learn to block your thoughts early on, in my family. Edward isn't the first mind reader I've had the displeasure of meeting, and let me tell you! That little blue-eyed, blonde-haired demon-child . . . she is so much worse than Edward. She uses her powers for evil at times! Or, that's what I think, anyway. Don't tell Max though, she'd yell at me . . . again.

"Bella, I'm serious," Of course he is, he just doesn't know all the facts, "You need to listen to me this time," and just why do I need to do that? I don't care what he things, these speeches are beginning to annoy me. There's a new one – usually on a similar topic – at least once a day, it's never ending! "You're just so breakable." Woah. Wait. What? What did he just say to me, oh like hell! "And I can't afford to lose you." Sure, that little bit might seem nice . . . but he called me breakable.

A little-known fact: I cannot stand being referred to as breakable. I hate it. Haven't been able to think clearly when that word is used since the occasion many years ago, involving me, and an eraser named Ari (I'll explain what an eraser is some other time), and a conversation that started with him saying: 'You're not perfect, bird brain, let me show you how breakable you are.' And then of course, it was I who broke him, but the word itself reminds me too much of Ari, and his proof that came later to just how breakable we can be to his kind . . . I'm not his biggest fan . . . and my hate for him only increased the time he nearly succeeded in breaking my brother, permanently.

So, let's just use that as my reason for reacting the way I did, "Breakable! I am not breakable! I'm not some weakling that needs your protection all the time, Edward. I'm so tired of yo-" My rant is cut off midstream by Jasper's surprised gasp, and I glance at him to see him looking at the computer, reading over what appeared to be a blog. It seemed far more interesting than this conversation, so it shouldn't come as a surprise when I turned towards Jasper with curiosity, "What's up with the computer?"

Jasper glanced at me, the both of us choosing to ignore the fuming Edward who was not happy with the sudden lack of attention on him. The empath responded with a shrug, "I think it's some prank kids are pulling. Nothing important, just some of the content seemed pretty real. It's called 'Fang's Blog,'" I have to fight back the shudder at the name. Fang . . . Surely, it's a coincidence . . . It couldn't really be . . . . Jasper laughed, turning back to the computer, "Kid claims he has wings. First entry is funny, though. But it's all about how they want to make their cause for 'Saving the World' known, and how some girl named Max is going to kill him when she finds out about the Blog. Most of the latest posts seem to mention someone named Feather, how they miss her and want her back, and asking fans to keep an eye out, and the tips coming in. It's just a prank, obviously."

Jasper had already written it off as a stupid prank, but . . . I couldn't resist. I was at the computer in a second – not noticing how quickly I'd moved without meaning to, "Let me see." It wasn't a request, the demand a bit unfamiliar for the 'Bella' demeanor I'd adopted, but I didn't care as I quickly read over his shoulder, becoming faintly amused when the empath became uncomfortable with my closeness and wheeled his chair out of the way.

My eyes zero-ed in on the 'leave reply' button, the arrow cursor resting over it as I fought to not immediately send a response. It didn't seem like a good idea to open the Cullen's to my world just yet.

Oh, but Max was definitely going to be killing my brother for setting up the blog. Our fearless leader has quite the temper on her, and one that Fang enjoys pushing to the limits, and does so often. He really should have known better. It's definitely not a prank thought, but I do hope Fang gets his ass kicked for it. Oh, maybe Iggy will video tape it for me too! I couldn't bear it if I were to miss out on that! I hadn't noticed the thoughts weren't in my head, but rather spoken out loud (although muttered softly, at a quicker than human rate. My avian genes were kicking in as well, making half of the words come out in something similar to bird like whistles while I muttered it all beneath my breath). I couldn't help but shake my head again, this was just further proof that my brother isn't the smartest mutant in the world.

But, the same could be said about me, "What do you mean?" Edward's voice came from behind me suddenly, and it was only at that point that I realized my thoughts had been spoken verbally rather than internally.

I hesitate, just for a second, refusing to look at him, my eyes still locked on that stupid 'leave reply' button; "I mean . . . exactly what I said. It's . . . kinda complicated." Actually, it's more than that. It's completely illegal for me to even speak about, not that I planned to inform the Cullen's about that part of this situation. And temptation was drawing my attention more firmly to that button, the mouse cursor hovering over it so invitingly. I missed them all so much . . . .

I hit the 'reply' button before I could stop myself, keeping my back towards the Cullen's as I let my fingers fly over the keys.

Fang,

Wish a little birdie could have told me about your blog a while ago, or I'd have used it to keep up with you guys, and reply earlier than this. But, I'm sorry for taking so long for being away. But really, how hard is it to tell someone about a super-secret, and illegal (you remember that part, right brother-dearest?) blog. Here I've been worried like crazy about what you guys might be up to, if any of you had gotten hurt. Is it so hard as to let a little gossip flow my way about such a cool bit of literature?

But, anyway, I'm sorry for not replying sooner, but my self-exile is almost over. I'll probably need to take off soon, anyway; I'm rather annoyed with feeling so caged. Oh, my newest answer about why a caged bird sings? To try and alert someone to rescue them. Tell Max that! But, anyways; if you've caught my drift, you'll know what I mean.

Tell everyone I love them, keep our Fearless Leader safe, she really needs a collar! I will hopefully meet up with everyone soon. Oh, and don't you dare forget to tell Iggy I said Hi!

Talk to you soon, my brother.

~Feather

I clicked the send button before I could rethink what I had just done, in front of a family of too-curious-for-their-own-good vampires. I could already feel their eyes drilling me with their curious stares, "Sorry," I mutter after a moment, slowly turning around, "I'd probably have forgotten later if I hadn't replied now. And, I'd really hate to leave them worrying about me." My family, my flock . . . I really was missing them.

Edward was staring at me, like this was the first time he was really seeing me, thought he still wasn't really seeing me, "Bella . . . who is Fang? Why did you sign the reply as 'Feather'? What's going on here?" As he asked his questions, his voice was growing rougher, a bit angrier, a bit more dangerous, his family watching him with concern, even as I was barely containing my smirk.

I shifted, leaning against my desk, and letting my arms cross over my midsection in a very 'un-Bella-like' pose, "Fang might not have a problem telling the world, but unlike my twin brother, I listen to Max. I can't say a word." Can't even use my wings while I'm suffering from my self-exile.

Edward's golden eyes narrowed, starting to flash a shade darker in a dangerous way that reminded me a little too much of the erasers back 'home'. Or maybe the flyboys. One or the other, they both tried to kill us often enough. Either way, I didn't like the look, "You're refusing to tell us?" He asked, and I nodded, half closing my eyes, "Because someone won't . . . let you?" He asked for clarification. I couldn't help but sigh, my nod a bit more exaggerated this time. I mean, come on . . . I wasn't speaking Bird Language was I?

"Maximum Ride is our leader. It is in our nature to obey the words of our leader. I might be away from them, but . . . I still follow the rules laid out years ago. It's practically programmed into us." While what I was saying was true, I was being as careful as I could not to give away too much information, trying to keep the true meaning from being deciphered. I almost felt bad, but then again . . . it was what I had been going for.

I was not, however, going for Edward's explosion, a temper that put Max to shame, "What the hell is that supposed to mean! And what are you playing at, Bella! Suddenly acting like you're someone completely different! What the hell is going on?" He was actually snarling at this point, I mean really snarling, at me. Esme and Carlisle were watching everything unfold, and Emmett was trying hard to decide if he needed to restrain Edward or not.

Jasper, however, was starting to scare me, his expression was far to understanding, and I had the feeling he'd read more of Fang's Blog then he originally stated. I rolled my eyes at Edward though, glaring more forcibly, more darkly at him, channeling my natural temper and independence, before speaking with a tone that was much harsher than one normally associated with 'Bella,' "No, you don't know me, Edward! Do you want to know why? Because I'm not some weak, pathetic little human that needs to be protected all the god damn time!" I'm not even fully human!

He suddenly snapped his hand out, grabbing my wrist in a powerful super-human grip, before looking down at the hand tightly clasping my wrist in a way that should be painful, despite the fact I wasn't flinching, "That didn't hurt you . . .?" He muttered, surprised.

I raised a single eyebrow, mimicking my brother's favorite facial expression (he's my twin after all), "You were trying to hurt me?" I asked him, eyes narrowing slightly as Carlisle chose that moment to step forward, putting his hand on Edward's forearm and whispering for him to release me.

Edward didn't even acknowledge the older vampire, finally realizing what he'd done (or attended to do) and his eyes snapped open wide, "Oh my god," He muttered, letting me go, and stepping back quickly. I shrugged, unconcerned, even as I mirrored his action. He hadn't hurt me, after all.

"Sorry Maximum," I whisper softly, before looking up at the vampiric family, "My name is Feather, but I have no last name . . . not unless you want to try and count Ride, and none of us count it. My twin brother is Fang, the author of that Blog, and I'm part of the flock Jasper read about." The expressions shifted from confused to stunned at the casual use of the term 'flock,' and as I sighed one last time, I took the final step back, letting go of the false form I wore.

And suddenly, I wasn't Bella anymore.