Senri looked up. Cooro and Nana looked up too; Husky just glanced up and turned his head away. "Just a bird," he said dismissively. The shape wheeling in the sky froze suddenly, and then fell, away from the four travellers. Cooro jumped up.
"Well, we'll see now! Come on!"
Nana grumbled but followed him; Senri stood and silently came as well, gazing around him. Husky inwardly sighed. Why did he even come...? However, he trailed after. Senri led the way, with Cooro bouncing along behind him and Nana jabbering away. Husky hated girls. They walked for a little while, long enough for Nana to wonder if they were going the right way. Senri just nodded, and dodged round a boulder. There was a small dusty space, with a dark haired girl sitting in the centre on a rock. If there was anything Husky hated more than annoying girls, it was crying girls. The one on the rock was weeping quietly, but stopped when she saw the four. She leapt up, brushing at her eyes and stood in a position that showed she had some fighting experience. Husky brandished his stick and she spoke, in a light but rough voice.
"What do you want?"
Her blue/grey eyes scanned them. They gave Nana the creepy feeling of being x-rayed. Cooro ran towards her, but Husky held him back. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed. The girl stepped back slightly, as if to run, and Senri held up his hand. She growled, and Nana hid behind Husky. That made the stranger laugh. Senri smiled, but Nana was freaking out. Husky glimpsed her and covered his ears. She shrieked, and the girl winced and covered her ears as well. Wings burst from her back, but unlike Nana and Cooro's, they were grey-brown.
"A hawk +Anima!"
The hawk girl flew away, madly zigzagging through the air. Cooro spread his wings and followed her. Husky hit his forehead with his palm. "That idiot, the girl will probably fight him." Sure enough, when the black wings caught up to the brown ones, they clashed and Cooro was kicked away. The hawk girl dipped and twisted frantically, and Husky got the impression she was either injured, or couldn't fly. The girl fell again, and Senri and Nana led the race to get to her. Senri's arm transformed and he slashed his way through the rocks. Husky had seen him so eager only a few times before, so he sped up and they almost stepped on the girl who lay panting on the ground. Husky grabbed her and shook her madly, yelling, "What did you do to Cooro!" She sobbed, and he dropped her. She clutched her elbow. Senri stepped forward and knelt in front of her. He moved her hand slightly, and Nana gasped. The girl's elbow was badly dislocated. Senri moved her hand completely off, and she looked at him with mistrust. He stared back, and the girl just nodded and relaxed slightly. Senri gripped her arm tightly, and pushed the bone back into place. The hawk girl screamed in pain, and Nana held onto Husky's arm. He was too dumbstruck at what was happening to shake her off. Senri put his hands on the girl's shoulders to stop her from flying away. He spoke softly, "Better?"
"Yes."
Senri helped the girl stand up, and she leaned against a stone and glared at Husky, especially at the stick he was holding. Cooro came out from behind a rock and stood next to Husky. Husky hit him with the stick. "Where were you?"
Nana said, "It does take time to walk, you know."
"Shut up."
Cooro ran towards the girl, who was standing next to Senri. She held out her good arm to stop him from coming closer. He ducked around her arm, and the girl was too weak to try pushing him away. She sank down to the bottom of the boulder, and Cooro sat next to her. She leaned her head back. "So," she said in her melodic voice, "what do you want?"
Cooro said, "Will you come with us? We're looking for +Anima."
Her voice held an anxious edge. "Does that mean you're all +Anima?"
They nodded. She sighed. "Figures. I couldn't fight you all off, even if I wanted to."
"Who said anything about fighting?"
"Being a hawk +Anima, I've had to fight way too much, even though I'm only just fifteen. It's why I'm living out here, instead of in a city like normal people. People would throw stones at me, calling me a monster, and I was mugged and robbed a few times. I was just attacked by some travellers, before you guys came along. It's how I was injured, though it wasn't so bad until I fell out of the air just then. So what are your names?"
"I'm Cooro, this is Senri, this is Husky and this is Nana! What's yours?"
"My name is Mica."
"So, are you coming or what?"
"Um... where are you going?"
"Anywhere! Wherever we can eat and sleep, and especially where we can find more +Anima!"
Husky interrupted. "Probably south, since it's the end of summer."
"Hmmm, south? Then yeah, I will come with you."
"Cool! Come on!"
Cooro marched off, before coming back and saying sheepishly, "I have no idea where we're going."
Senri helped Mica back up, and walked off. Cooro followed, and then Nana skipped off after him. Husky and Mica brought up the rear, in awkward silence. She cleared her throat. "So... do you still want to hit me with the stick?"
"I will if you don't shut up."
"Good, it means I don't have to try and start the conversation."
They walked for a little longer, in comfortable silence this time since they knew neither wanted to talk. At least, it was comfortable until they reached a river. Mica stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes widened. Husky walked on for a bit before realising she wasn't there. He paused, and turned around. "Mica?" She was shaking, and put a hand to her head. Memories replayed;
Her cousins teased her by holding her above the water, because Mica couldn't swim. They took her to a cliff and made her look down. There was deep water, far below. One cousin pushed her. She screamed; her death was getting closer and closer. She watched the hawk circling above, and suddenly she was going up, away from the depths and the source of her fear.
Husky shook her. Mica's eyes flew open and she only saw the deep water. She struggled and her wings burst open. Husky knocked her over and pinned her wings down. "Calm down, hawk-girl!" he was yelling. She thrashed, the only thought in her mind being to get away. She needed to fly, to feel the air. She released one wing, and then the other, freeing herself enough to flap into the air. She soared upwards, without looking down. When she did, she saw Husky yelling at the others and Senri looking confused. Nana and Cooro both spread their wings and took off after her. Mica tilted her head and flapped in midair. Nana's wings were bat wings? So Cooro was a crow, Senri… was a bear, Nana was a bat, and so what was Husky? Whatever. She would calm herself down, fly around a bit, and then maybe sit in a secluded space. Not anywhere near the river…
Nana flew hurriedly toward her, but Cooro was- somewhere. Mica twisted around to see where he was, and he charged into her at full speed. Last thing she saw were her own wings, flying up as she fell.
