Raven sat looking up into the branches of the tree that shaded their table. It was in the middle of a school day but her mind was more occupied with other things. The sun was warm and inviting and she was unable to break free of her human prison and embrace the warm breeze with silky feathers. Everyone around her was talking but she couldn't be bothered to pay attention. An entire plate of untouched food lay in front of her but she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to that either. The blue sky above that was so visible taunted her, the light breeze laughed at her shamelessly. She groaned softly and Leona finished her conversation before moving closer to Raven.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I can't stand it. The same old charade over and over again. Why do we even have to keep coming here?" Raven said, looking Leona straight in the eye.
"Um, it's the law." Leona said for what felt like the millionth time.
"A stupid human law. Since when do we stick to any laws? I feel so confined, held back. I think I'm going to skive off the rest of the day. You coming?" Raven said, not totally caring about the answer.
Leona seemed to be torn. She knew that it wasn't right to leave school in the middle of the day and that if she did she would definitely get into a lot of trouble, but she hated not knowing where Raven was when she disappeared on her own and it caused her to worry unnecessarily about her best friend. Not that she would ever tell Raven that.
Raven got to her feet and looked down at her best friend. Extremely reluctantly Leona shook her head slowly. Raven just shrugged her slender shoulders and walked towards the school. Raven didn't look back. Leona sighed and began to chat animatedly with a random human from the group that more followed Raven and herself than it being the other way around.
Raven pushed the door open and stepped into one of the small hallways that led to some of the cages better known as classrooms. She didn't turn off anywhere and she kept walking all the way down the corridor. She paused when she reached the staff room and cautiously drew up to the window. Silly human teachers didn't bother her but she felt that she would go insane if one of them stopped her and her escape plan was foiled. They were all to busy watching something on the television and she grinned as she slunk past. She cast out her senses but nothing was ahead to stop her. She pushed the heavy main door open and sighed in relief. She ran quickly over to her car and jumped in smoothly. The car was a sleek dark purple convertible and she shot the car forward, out of the school premises.
The wind whipped round her and her smile grew wider as the relief of being free enveloped her. She manoeuvred around interlocking streets, heading to somewhere she could always call home. Nowhere else was quite home to her or felt as comforting and safe. As the streets disappeared and the road became less smooth she relaxed and eased up on the accelerator. The scrubby woodland was inviting and streams of sunlight filtered through the trees lighting a path to freedom. She laughed out loud at how corny she sounded in her head and the carefree sound joined with the air around her. She stopped the car and stepped out. The soft sounds of many different creatures were comforting and it never failed to help her find a calming peace. The earthy, wooden smells were a lot welcomer to her rather than anything in the town and especially around the school.
She stepped away from the car and further into the trees. She walked until she could no longer see the car behind her. It had been a week since that night at the mall but something about that day still weighed heavily upon her mind. She was frustrated that she couldn't put her finger on it. It was nagging her more than a piece of meat stuck at the back of her teeth. She shook herself and started to change. All of her worries and anxieties fell away as her human form did.
She stretched her wings to get used to being back in her raw form and then she kicked upwards. The feeling of being in the air was unlike any other. The wind carried her as she flew past tree after tree. She could hear small animals moving around below but she wasn't there to eat. She had already eaten what she needed earlier that morning and she wasn't in the mood to take more than she needed.
Despite the joy she always felt when she was a Raven (and it wasn't just her name) she couldn't stay in her more comfortable form forever. The sun was beginning to set and a chill was being brought along with the darkness of the night. She knew that she was going to get into trouble for skipping school and that meant she didn't feel too compelled to rush back. She wished that she didn't have to go back to school ever again but she had to keep up the charade. Nightworlders were used to keeping up charades, they had to in order to survive. History had proved that over and over again.
She settled on a branch and looked around her. Something didn't feel quite right. She had the feeling something was there and it wasn't a good feeling. She threw out all her senses, trying to see what was beyond her sight line but she could detect nothing. She couldn't shake the feeling though, because she was listening so intently for something that she wasn't even sure was there it took her a couple of minutes to realise that all of the animals were silent. It intensified the uneasy feeling by quite a large chunk.
She stretched her wings out and dived down. Just before hitting the woodland floor she pulled up and the thrill of the daring dive nearly caused her to lose her balance again. As each of the stars appeared one by one in the midnight-blue sky she glided through the air avoiding trees, heading towards her car again quickly.
She finally reached her car and perched herself upon the drivers seat. She changed back and placed her hands upon the steering wheel. She yawned and put the gearshift into drive. She started to pull forward when a blurred form shot in front. She slammed down onto the breaks hard and the car threw her body forward sharply. Her head hit hard off the driving wheel. Her whole body slumped backwards, into the seat and the darkness took over. Her vision became blurred and a large hand grasped her shoulder.