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INTERLUDE
This is not a chapter really… It's just a funny little tidbit that is meant to send a message to all of you that I have not forgotten about this fic… And to give you a little back story to life with The Fledges before this story starts… Just as a note… Ages in this Interlude stand thus;
Angel and Tommy; 11, Cat;6 (in human years), KIX;7 (in human years), Ember; 3
Hopeless
"Ember! You give that back you peeping PERVERT!"
Angel lunged across the small space of the hotel bathroom dropping the little package she'd been inspecting in her haste, her shirt gaping open in the front, exposing the lacy little bra underneath and it's liberal padding of tissue…
Ember cackled wickedly and darted away, her three-year-old face wrinkled up in glee waving the box Angel had taken the package from over head like a trophy.
It was one of those rare times that Angel deemed her flock worthy of spending a night in a real hotel, in a real bed, in a real room with real walls. And needless to say they didn't know what to do with themselves, so they were mainly just standing or sitting around looking terrified…
Ember, on the other hand, was wreaking havoc in a way only a three-year-old with wings can.
So far, she'd eaten every piece of candy in the 'you lift it out of the basket, you bought it' tray on top of the minifridge, running their bill up by at least thirty dollars or more. She'd given each of the beds in both rooms a solid bouncing. She'd tasted each of the little bars of scented soap and thrown up in the boy's bathroom sink.
She'd crawled under the tables and scratched at the walls, her eyes blank, howling in a haunting, ghostly voice; "Gone, gone- GONE! It's all GAWWWWWWWWNNNNNN!"
Until Angel pulled her out and put her in time-out for ten minutes…
Ember had made faces at her behind her back the whole time… Angel ignored her, shaking her head of newly cropped curls and ordering everyone about.
And now that it was bed time, Ember had developed a theory as to why they'd suddenly found themselves in a hotel, instead of sleeping outside like they usually did…
Angel had disappeared once a month, every month for the past six months… And these disappearances seemed to happen on regular intervals. Every twenty-five days to be exact… She'd fly off for about a week, and come back.
Well, Cat seemed to think she knew why, but damn it, Ember wanted to know for sure!
So, when this escapade coincided with one of these twenty-five day disappearances, Ember decided to find out WHY…
Ember leapt across the beds still waving the box as Angel came out of the bathroom, practically foaming at the mouth, her shirt still flapping open, her short blonde hair sticking up in the back, her boy's jeans still too large in everything but the butt and hips.
It seemed to be a fad now-a-days, that everyone dressed like a boy… Except Daisy-David, who bawled her big dark blue eyes out when Angel had pinned her to the ground and hacked her ponytail off at her shoulders.
Daisy still hadn't stopped crying over it, sitting in the corner curled in on herself, eyes red rimmed and puffy… Rather unflattering in everyone's opinion. Daisy was usually always fabulous, her hair always perfect, her skirts always immaculate, even her wings were always flawlessly shining, her feathers smooth and opalescent.
But now, while she sat there in sweatpants and a purple tank-top, wings curled around her body, nose dripping onto her arm, eyes distant and swollen… Shortened hair messy and flipping out the wrong way on the left side…
But when she saw the box Ember was waving around, Daisy's eyes lit up and she started laughing her dark head off!
Ember was very angry at Angel for ruining Daisy's fabulous-ness… So, THIS, was how she got Angel back for it… By stealing whatever Angel had been hiding in this little box.
As she waved it around, more of the little packages flew out of it, scattering around the room.
"AH! MY EYES!" Tommy shrieked and slapped his hands up over his face, clawing at his eyebrows, feathers lifting in horror as he toppled backward into the floor and began writhing.
KIX's face went as red as his sweatshirt and the fur on his tail stood on end.
Cat purred in twisted delight where she was perched atop the large TV cabinet against the far wall, lying sprawled lazily, her head hanging over the edge, absently twiddling one of the packages between her fingers. "Having a nice period, Angel?"
Angel's eyes bugged, took in everything… Including the fact that the boys were in her room, even though they weren't supposed to be, grabbed the flaps of her shirt and tugged it quickly closed with a howl of indignation.
"Ember you little ASSHOLE!" She whirled in a flurry of black boy's clothes, short blonde hair and white wings, only to slam and lock herself back into the bathroom.
Ember rolled over and over on the bed, tears building in her eyes laughing like a madman.
KIX took one look at her and the packages scattered about the room, and covered his face with his hand…
He clearly remembered the few short hours he'd spent with the little girl's father when he was much younger… And he'd heard stories told by Angel when she was feeling particularly hurtful and regaled them all with tales of the 'Failure of The Flock'…
If what Angel said was true, Ember was more than a chip off the ol' block, so to speak… She was purely, devilishly, and hopelessly, her father's child…
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