By. CorvidQueen
Sunlight blazed orange in the pale sky, but the chill remained, a friendly breeze bringing a blush to Anona's cheeks as she followed some unknown path through the a forest she couldn't quite remember. The trees had shed their formal green, vivid colors adorning their outstretched limbs. Fiery oranges, mellow yellows, blood reds and bronzed browns, all of them bright against the clear blue background that seemed to stretch endlessly above. Her steps where muffled and untraceable in the natural carpet that covered the frost hardened ground, the path upon which she traveled was also located beneath that same carpet and still, she knew exactly where she was going, an almost instinctual knowledge. A smile twisted up the corners of her mouth, dark eyes glittering as she reached her destination, a cliff that seemed to stretch upwards into the sky. Anona knew better though, heartbeat increasing with anticipation, wind tugging lightly at her pony tail, the raven curls brushing against her neck. Taking a deep breath, she squared herself to the precipice and began to run, long, sprinting strides like a gymnast on approach. She came to the edge and flung herself to the wind and the sky, heart stopping at the sudden rush. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as the entire town came into her field of vision, sprawling in all of its mid-day glory. Cold air stung her face and numbed her exposed fingers with its biting freshness. All this happened in the instant before she spread her wings, ivory feathers cupping and trapping the wind, lifting her suddenly upwards and back....
Purple hued eyes opened suddenly, heart beating in her throat. It had only been a dream....but it had been so real. Anona relaxed, exhaling deeply as she lay in the darkness for a few moment, reviling in the vividness of the dream, something she had never experienced before. Silence settled with an eerie calm in her small room, silver beams of the moon's last rays streaming like liquid lightning through her single window. Anona shifted uncomfortably on her stomach, feeling as if she where laying in something most unpleasant Her heart began to echo in her ears as she slowly turned her head. Hands clenched in shock as all color drained from her face. An object bulged from her back that shouldn't have been, pulling her shirt taunt. The pressure built as the object grew in size, until it felt like she was being choked, but she couldn't move, paralyzed with terror. She felt no pain for once, only a sting like that of a paper cut. The drugs hadn't worn off yet, but even they couldn't stop the scream of horror as her shirt finally gave in, the ripping sound making her sick. She caught a glimpse of it before she fainted. Rising from someplace below her shoulder blade was a single, snow white wing, matted feathers dripping a viscous mixture of bodily fluids. Then came the black again, accompanied by blissful unawareness as she settled into the calm of unconsciousness.
Black faded to gray, and then gray to a soft white, Anona blinking as she slowly came to the realization that she was awake. Several other facts came to her sedated mind, stumbling over one another before finally presenting themselves in the semblance of an order. First and foremost, she was drugged and heavily at that. Secondly, she was no longer in her room. Thirdly, she was in strange clothes, on a hospital bed. Lastly, something was very, very wrong.
"Da-ddy?"
Her voice was strangled and forced, words coming slowly and with great difficulty. She began to lift her head, trying to sit up as tangled curls fell across her face.
"Dad?"
"Shhh, I'm right here, don't move."
Just hearing his voice soothed her, images flashing in her mind, of flying and sunlight, then wings...
"I can't see. Where you?" she questioned, frustration coming at the effort it took to speak.
"I'm right here baby doll, stop moving or you'll pull your stitches out." he responded, moving closer at her obvious distress.
A hand gently tucked her hair back in place, fingers trailing from her ear across her cheek, stopping at her chin and directed her anxious glance. Sudden peace came as her eyes met those of her fathers, a short lived relief. In his dark eyes she saw the same fear and uncertainty she felt. In the pallor of his skin and tentative smile, she saw his concern and anxiety. A question slowly formed in her mind.
"Wha-at...happened? What's wrong with me-e?" she asked carefully, but her voice still trembled, purple hued eyes focused intently on his expression.
"Besides your seeming speech impediment?" he answered teasingly, but his smile didn't reach his eyes which remained troubled and almost distant.
Anona managed a weak grin, but she wasn't sure she liked his expression. He sighed finally, running a hand through his own hair before speaking.
"How much do you remember about last night?" he finally asked.
Fear slithered down her spine, nestling in her stomach and disturbing the butterflies so that they took flight.
"Dad. What. Is. Going. On?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"We call it the X-Factor, a berserk gene that has suddenly begun to, well, manifest itself after centuries, heck, decades, of laying dormant. Many doctors still don't know it exists, and the ones that do know have no clue why it's happening. Maybe all that pollution's finally gotten to our delicate constitutions." Dr. Sifane said as he gently checked Anona's stitches late that afternoon.
The bedridden girl grimaced as he repaired a few that had been pulled. Her father sat at her bedside, reassuring and encouraging, as always.
"I didn't know about it either until It blew up in my face, quite literally. Some girl managed to completely incinerate an entire two blocks and was brought to me for treatment. There where no survivors, well over 20 people died but no bodies where ever found." the doctor continued as he surveyed Anona's wings.
"I'm going to blow stuff up?!" Anona cried in terror, looking to her father in nothing less that sheer panic.
"Not necessarily honey, the, erm, ability, you get is as random as the color skittle you get out of the bag." he answered hesitantly, obviously struggling for the right words. "Right Dr.Sifane."
"You've got the basics downs. Given your wings, you could very well brake the sound barrier, we really don't know." the doctor nodded in affirmation, apology flashing for a moment in otherwise emotionless gray eyes. He had not meant to scare the girl.
"She's done changing right? I know it's a silly question, but can she come home?"
Before her father had even finished, Dr.Sifane was shaking his head.
"Out of the question. I'm sorry Mr.Andrews, but for her safety and that of everyone else, she can't go back. However, there are schools, institutes you could say, that not only teach mutants like your daughter how to control their powers, but they also provide your regular education."
"Home Schooling?" Anona asked, a hint of indigence creeping into her tone as she propped herself uncomfortably on her elbows, turning her head in an attempt to see Dr.Sifane better.
"Stop moving, your back still had to heal." the doctor scolded, moving into the girl's field of vision. "But in essence, yes, home schooling."
Anona's father sighed, reaching to stroke his daughter's hair. "When I say you that night...after you had screamed...I-I thought I had lost you. Looks like I still am."