"We need a plan, and we need it now." Max said to her flock as they huddled around a fire in the middle of the woods. They discussed plans of attack and other things while I kept hidden behind a bush. The dirty blonde haired boy kept looking over to where I lay hidden, but I know he can't see me. That boy in particular is blind, and he alone is my target.
"Max, can we go to bed?" the little girl with bright blonde hair and ringlets bobbed her head in the direction opposite me.
"Sure thing, Angel." Max answered and took the girl's hand, leading the rest of the flock away. I kept in my hiding place until I was sure they couldn't hear me before and exhaled heavily. I lay on the fallen leaves behind me and shudder from the frozen air.
"Who are you?" a voice asked quietly from the darkness. I jump and pull out a tiny dagger but still can't see the one who spoke. "Down here!" it yelled and I looked down to see a small black dog. "Stop staring and tell me your business before I call Max and Fang and have them open a can of Whoop-Ass on you." The dog laughed.
"I'm…21698…" I whisper and collapse in front of the dog. "I was made to be…made for…I was made by Jeb."
"Jeb! FANG!" the dog screams and I sit rigid and scared. I haven't been taught to fight like them, I know I'm going to lose and I'm frozen in fear.
"Who are you!" a boy with black hair squints at me. He holds his hands firm to his sides and waits for me to reply.
"21698." I answer as the little blonde girl named Angel comes running towards us with the blind boy.
"Angel stay back, she could be dangerous." Fang said under his breath, still watching me. The girl shook her head and sat in front of me.
"She was made by Jeb for Iggy. She has special powers we don't. She has no name though…she was told her name would be whatever Iggy wanted it to be." I stare in shock at the girl as she gives my life story without a single question. Iggy stepped toward me but tripped over a root. I jumped up with unnatural speed and caught him, helping him to regain his footing.
"Thank…you…" he whispered softly, his long fingers working their way up my arms to my neck. "What color are your eyes?"
"I…I don't know…" I begin to pull away from him but he holds me firm. Fang moved toward me and stared for a moment.
"They're green, Ig." He replied before putting as much distance between me and him as he could. Iggy smiled and ran his fingers over my face, feeling the lines of my lips and cheeks. I vaguely heard the rest of his flock leave us as he continued to find out what I "look" like.
"What color is your hair?" he whispers softly in my ear, his hands still roaming me. I laugh softly and touch my hand to his cheek.
"It's brown, but do you want to see me? Give me your hand and I can give you my sight as long as we touch." Iggy mumbles something incoherent and slides his hand down my arm and holds my hand, while I concentrate on using my powers to let him see. Slowly my vision dims and goes black, and I hear Iggy's sudden gasp. He grips my hands tighter and I feel his body moving around, taking in his surroundings.
"This is amazing! How…never mind, I don't care how, as long as it's real." I hear his excited laughter as he continues to jerk my arm around as he explores. Suddenly he stopped and I felt his free hand touch my face. He whispers something softly and I can barely feel his breath on my lips. After a few moments I can feel his lips brush my cheek. "Don't betray me…please…" he whispers to me before pressing his lips gently to mine. His kiss was soft and sweet, lasting for many moments before we broke apart, breathless. He slid his hand off my cheek and to my hip, before sliding it up my shirt. "Can I see your wings, since I feel they're here?" he whispers shyly, like he's asking me to remove my clothes.
"Anything you like." I smile and shrug my shoulders, stretching my wings out and enjoying the freedom the air gives me.
"My God…" Iggy groaned softly and suddenly I felt his hands on my wings, making me let out a soft moan. He stoked my feathers gently, playing attention to each one. Never having my wings touched before made Iggy's touch amplified, making the rest of my nerves catch fire. "Your wings are so black…not a hint of color in them. How strange…yet beautiful."
"I never noticed…this is only the second time they've been out." I whisper, hoping to not break the bond we've begun. I feel Iggy shift again, and I hear the rustle of feathers before becoming surrounded by warmth. "What's going on?" I begin to panic slightly, my sight gone and having no clue what's happening.
"You looked cold, so I wrapped you in my wings." Iggy chuckled and pulled me closer to him.
"Iggy! What the hell is this I heard about a girl that was made for you? Do you honestly think you can trust HER?" an angry female voice shrieked. Iggy growled under his breath and unwrapped his wings from me, but kept holding my hand.
"I don't see what your problem is, Max. Don't think we don't know about you and Fang running off at night. Especially Angel. How do you think she feels about you thinking about Fang all the time? She can hear it, you know?" Iggy jerked the hand that was holding mine forward. "When I hold her hand, I can see. I can see your fury right now, but she can't. She's sacrificing her sight for me. ME!" suddenly he let go of my hand and my sight attacked me. His entire flock surrounded us, their looks all very different. "But I guess me being able to have sight and happiness is just too much for you."
"Ig, why are you doing this? You're always the "if it's good, it's too good to be true" guy! The rational one! Don't you think this is a trick?" Max growled and glared at me, her eyes like daggers piercing my skull.
"She's not lying. I've been into her mind already. The only thing she wants is to make Iggy happy." Angel walked away from Max to stand on the other side of Iggy. Fang and Max stared at her in disbelief.
"If Angel's in, I'm in." the little blonde boy walked to be next to Angel.
"Thanks, Gazzy." Iggy mumbled to the boy. Max turned to the only girl left and cleared her throat.
"Well, Nudge? Are you going to betray me too?" the reaction of the rest of the flock was the same, except for Fang; shocked and angry.
"We're not betraying you, Max! We just think that you should give her a chance, especially if Iggy likes her. It's not fair for you to be secretly seeing Fang and for Ig to be alone and wish he could have that too." Nudge crossed her arms over her chest and flipped her hair over her shoulders.
"She can let me see again, Max. I wasn't born blind. I remember seeing, and now I can again as long as we touch…it's amazing!" Iggy turned towards me and held his hand out. I laced my fingers with his and gave him my sight. "She was made for me, Max. Given powers we can't imagine. Stop giving me that look! You pity me and I can see it! Give her a chance dammit!" Iggy squeezed my hand tightly in anger.
"Fine. She has a week to prove herself to the flock." Max sighed. I began to laugh and looked in the direction I thought she was before speaking finally.
"You're every bit as stubborn as Jeb said you were. But Fang…I wasn't warned you would hate me right away. Angel, Gazzy, Nudge…Iggy," I gasped at the feel of his name on my lips, "Are you ok with me proving myself worthy of Iggy?" I felt Iggy chuckle next to me before I got my sight back, he dropped my hand and turned to me.
"You're not proving yourself of that, Max won't allow it. You're proving that you won't try and take over her flock or her guy."
"He's right, you know. This isn't about you wanting to be with Iggy, because you won't be with him until AFTER I decide if you're good enough for my flock." Max smiled like she had won. This time Fang spoke up.
"Max…if she truly was made for him, why can't she prove it? If she's made to be with him, doesn't that mean she won't make a move on me, or risk hurting his family?" Fang turned to me and stared. "Tell me honestly, do you find me attractive in any way?" the flock all gasped and turned to see me, but Iggy only tensed by my side.
"I've found no one attractive except for Iggy. Pictures only sparked a small interest because it wasn't him. But with him standing here next to me…I want nothing more than for him to be happy." I kicked a small rock in front of me and kept my gaze low. I heard Max laugh under her breath as Angel and Nudge "awed" and Gazzy made choking sounds.
"Seems she's telling the truth to me. Angel hasn't picked up anything evil so I say she joins, no test needed." Fang shrugged and looked at Max. "But you're the leader."
"Three days to prove yourself to ME." She turned on her heals and walked away, Fang quickly on her heals.
"So is it true that you can let Iggy see? Can you show us? What other powers do you have? What color are your wings? Do you have wings? Can you fly or are they just for pretty? Do you like music? I love music." Nudge chattered happily to me.
"Yes. Yes. A lot. Black. Yes. I can fly. I don't know." I counted on my fingers to be sure I answered all of her questions. She giggled and looked at my hand that lingered closely to Iggy's. I touched my fingers to his palm and let my vision slip away.
"Since when did you wear scarves, Nudge?" Iggy laughed.
"Hey! Stop pulling on it! You're going to choke…YOU CAN SEE!" she squealed. Iggy's hand was jerked from mine and when I saw him he had Nudge sitting on his chest hugging him.
"He can't see unless we touch. And why did you tackle him?" I laughed as she hopped off and brushed at her skirt and hair to be sure it was perfect.
"Excited and happy. Happily excited." She smiled brightly before turning away. "And now I'm going to bed." She took Angel's hand and they left, Gazzy watching me for a moment before leaving me and Iggy alone once again.
