I do not own +Anima or any future OCs (if any are submitted…) I do own the plot and Mia!
Chapter 1: Keys and Chameleons
A small girl danced around in the grass, laughing to some unspoken joke. Her pink dress flared in the breeze as she twirled on the spot and fell backwards. She laughed some more and got up again, humming quietly to herself. She never noticed the dark grey clouds spreading over the blue sky…until it was too late.
She screamed as the gales tossed her about, but her voice was swallowed by the booming thunder. Her house was farther away than she had thought it was; after all, she lived in the countryside, just a few miles away from the city.
Sheets of rain slapped her with icy fingers. The girl tried to get a grip on the grass, but the damp tendrils tore like paper and she rolled down the hill, tears streaking her face and sobs ripping away from her throat. Far away, she could see two tall figures running towards her. They were her parents, but they were being buffeted by the wind, too.
The cliff grew nearer and nearer. Her parents' voices, filled with worry and fear, reached her, but it was too late. She tumbled off the edge and her mother fell to her knees, screaming and crying and tearing her hair. The father just stopped and stared in disbelief. She was gone, with the storm. The storm left as quickly as it came, and sunlight began to stream through the vanishing clouds, illuminating the distraught couple in shock on the cliff.
And then suddenly, a silhouette, blackened by the sun, rose from behind the ledge with big, pearly grey wings, the color of the clouds that plagued them. All they could see of its face were its eyes, stormy grey and intelligent. And in its arms were the girl, hugging the shadow and laughing again.
The girl landed lightly on the ground and sprinted towards her parents, giggling as if it were all a game. They grasped her tightly, weeping in relief and joy. The father looked up to thank the stranger, angel, whoever had saved her daughter, but the winged shadow was gone. Something else was caught in the grass and the man walked up to investigate. It was a feather, the same color as the wings, and the same color of the mockingbirds that always filled their home with songs.
"A-atchoo!" I sneezed. The hustling, bustling city of insomnia shoved car honks, swear words, and business-y conversations in my ears and I groaned. My head was throbbing and I could feel my face growing warm.
"Olivia's going to kill me," I muttered. My sister was filled with tender loving care, but whenever I was reckless, like flying into a freak storm and then getting sick, she would whale on me like I had gone and killed someone. "Mia, you idiot!" she would snap, whacking me on the temple, then hunt for medicine. At least I saved someone.
But we were already short on money; we could just barely afford to eat and have basic necessities along with paying the bills and the rent. New York City can be a cruel place to an artist like her and a freakshow failure like me. She's the only one who knows about my wings; after all, she saw me get them. And she saw the one who gave them to me. Our bastard of a father. He nearly killed me, and then he got himself killed. Guess who got the better end of the deal!
Luckily, no one really know about the kind of person…thing I am. I wondered how many people were like me, but I wasn't interested in going out and finding them. I tugged my scarf around me more tightly and fumbled with the keys to our apartment. I was perfectly fine living at home, having as normal of a high school life as I possibly can, with Olivia, my best friend and sister, whom I loved more than anything.
I opened the door and was immediately struck by the scent of blood.
"Olivia!" I cried. I slammed the door behind me and ran around, trying to find her. I was on red-alert; the pain in my head and throat was driven out by pure adrenaline. All my senses were sharpened and my heart pounded in my chest.
"Where are you, Olivia? Oli—" I stopped in front of my bedroom. My neat bed and desk were over turned, with papers and clothes scattered everywhere, like someone was searching through it. And in the center of the room stood a tall man, sporting a long black trench coat. A black fedora hid his face from view. It was so tacky I wanted to laugh, but then I saw what he had tightly clenched in his fist.
It was my sister. Her blonde hair was stained with blood, tangled and gathered in the man's hand. Her pale face was swollen like a bruised balloon, and an eye was swollen shut. Her legs were bent at awkward angles, and a shard of bone protruded from her right thigh. Her clothes were torn and bloody, and her arms were tied behind her back.
In other words, she looked like crap.
"What do you want with Olivia? Who are you and why are you in here?" I demanded. I forced the tears away from my eyes. I could not look like a child in front of him.
"I want nothing to do with this woman. She was hindering me," he said coldly. He sounded no older than my sister, who was just barely twenty years old. He glared down his long nose and I shivered. His eyes were the eyes of a killer.
"Who are you?" I growled.
"I am a Hunter. That's all you'll need to know."
"What could you possibly want with us? We're poor. We have no money. We have nothing of importance at all!" I countered.
"What I am searching for has nothing to do with wealth. But it is important. Quite important. And it's something that you have!"
He lunged for me, dropping Olivia like a sack of rocks. Her body hit the floor with a sickening thump, and I knew that she wasn't alive anymore. She was too stiff to be alive.
Red clouded my vision as I side-stepped him and snapped a kick at his back. He cried out in pain and stumbled. I took the opportunity to scream at the top of my lungs.
"SOMEONE KILLED MY SISTER! MURDERER, MURDERER!" That would get the attention of any cop on the street, and sure enough, sirens began to wail outside. I heard the door bang open and safety locks click as a man shouted, "This is the police! We have the place surrounded!"
The man swore under his breath and glared at me again, his scum bag eyes boring into me.
"You are a key," he hissed, "and I assure you, you won't be able to hide from us forever! I am not the only one; we will hunt you all to the ends of the earth if we must!" With that, he jumped out the window and I ran up behind him, trying to see how he could possibly escape. But like magic, he vanished as he climbed out, and before he disappeared completely, I could see a long, scaly tail flick in agitation under the black cloak. A chameleon? Then he was like me! But…how? Why?
The men stormed around outside, trying to find the body. I looked down at Olivia and felt for a pulse. Like all dead people, she had none, and I could feel the tears well up behind my eyes again, hot and damp.
But I couldn't stay here anymore. I gazed at her, sorrow pounding away at my chest, and then I slipped out of my room. I hid behind the bathroom door as several cops trudged by, intent on finding the body. "She's in here," one of them yelled, and my heart panged.
Time to go. "The killer ran outside, out the window!" I hollered in the voice of the man who announced their arrival.
"But how?" another called, and a short dispute erupted among them. I quietly slipped out the back door, into the dark alleyway.
What there for a fifteen year old mockingbird +Anima to do? I was all alone now. A chameleon man is after my life and already took away only family. I spread my wings, the color of thunderclouds, my sister called them, and flew to a park a few miles away. I was already crying when I landed in a secluded part, surrounded by trees and bushes. I put away the wings and curled up in a ball and sobbed. What key? What are Hunters? And there are more of me?
It was only a few minutes later when I noticed the presence of a person in front of me. I looked up through damp eyes and the features of the person were still distorted. I thought he—or she—was going to comfort me, but instead, their words sent a chill down my spine.
"You're a +Anima. Like me."
OC time! If any of you are interested in having an OC in this story, feel free to fill out this form and send it to me, either in a PM or a review. I will select four males and three females (unless there are twins). Thank you!
Name:
Nickname:
Age: (between 13-19)
Gender:
Appearance (skin, height, body type, hair, eyes. Include marks like scars or tattoos): (Five to ten sentences)
+Anima appearance (Ears, tail, etc. Don't go overboard!)
Personality: (Five or more detailed sentences, please!)
+Anima: (If I like your character but the +Anima is the same as another, I'll message you)
Related powers: (ONLY ONE, unless it's natural like flying or swimming. Like Mia's mockingbird voice, or Nana's screech, etc. But remember, don't be a Sue or I'll have to reject you or dumb it down.)
History: (Must be trauma-related, as in how your character got your +Anima, but nothing cliché. As in: [ex: Sue's mother died from cancer, then her father died in an earthquake, then her siblings were kidnapped by the FBI]. Something that's possible but not ridiculously out of hand.)
Clothes: (They're a gang living in the streets, be sensible)
Hobbies:
Habits:
Dislikes:
Family (if any):
Best guy friend (short personality description):
Best girl friend (short personality description):
Relationship to Mia (degree of friendship or love life- I will decide):
Love? (Short personality description):
Other: (Anything else you want to add!)
So here's the story: Mia's only sister is killed by a strange +Anima, yelling about some 'key' she supposedly possesses. Alone and confused, she stumbles upon a gang of +Anima, targeted for similarly unknown reasons. When they are attacked again, by the same man and some other shady characters, they are forced to flee to the capital, where the answers lie. But was that the right decision?