Naida: Angels.
They're back again. The tormenters. Here just to make her life more of a misery than it already is.
Demon.
Monster.
Freak of nature.
Loser.
Die!
"No no no no!"
So she runs, she runs far, far away from the jeering and the pain and the horrid, horrid looks. Before she knows it she's not even on the ground anymore, not bothering to try and stay close to the ground or even to look normal anymore. It seems apparent to people she's not anyway, so why pretend? Now she's over the ocean, and the taunting crowd gives up chase.
She relaxes and lies on her back, staring at the endless blue of the sky, before flipping and staring at the deep azure of the ocean beneath her. She flies down to skim her tiny fingers across the surface of the cool water, the only thing on ground level that she can ever touch, watching the ripples fade away. She slows down and looks at her reflection in the blue mirror below her.
Fuzzy outlines of red bird wings are visible behind her, stretched out to allow for flight. She sighs and reaches up to touch them, her hand passing harmlessly through them, a odd tickling sensation of warmth running up and down her arm as her entire hand catches fire, but does not burn. Laying on her back once more and holding her alight hand up to watch the flames burn harmlessly out leaving not a single mark, she nearly forgets she's flying in a certain direction. Speeding up and flying skyward, she surveys the stretch of land she's come to.
The long stretch of sand is almost a blinding yellow, reflecting the light of the midday sun. Various brightly coloured villages spotted here and there give the impression of every day being a part time for this island. Around the edges, near the water's edge are clumps of tropical trees, as well as clustered around a couple of oasis's and in the villages. She dives towards the island, keeping out of sight of the villages for fear of the few citizens here who truly hate her.
Finally, she finds her special spot. In the single biggest tree in the most secluded part of the island she comes to rest. There are few solid things her feet can touch, but a living tree is one of them. She sits in the highest branches, concealed by the leaves and watches the animals on the ground below.
Except they weren't there.
"Eh?" she muttered aloud. Maybe something scared them off. It couldn't have been her, the animals were too used to her to be scared any more. Some of the birds even ate out of her hands! What happened she wondered.
"Hey!"
"Woah!!" Naida nearly fell out of her branch at the sudden voice. She whipped round to see a girl with short brown hair and eyes like fresh grass staring at her with awe. That in itself was odd, as most people stared at her out of some kind of fear or hate, but what was even more weird about this girl was that her scarf, her scarf of all things, moved on it's own! The girl's face turned red and a huge grin spread across her face, threatening to vanish into her ears.
"Ohmigosh how did you do that?!" she suddenly cried, jumping up with amazing grace into one of the branches above her. Naida blinked. What? No rock throwing? No running away? No angry glares? Not even an insult? "Ano, hey, are you deaf or something?" Ah, there it was. But it wasn't spiteful. How odd. She supposed she'd better answer.
"Umm…" she said quietly. "W-well, I kinda just … do it? It's sorta natural…like breathing!" she smiled at her example. The girl, however, looked disappointed.
"Awwww maaaaaan!" she hopped down from the branch, landing next to Naida. "I wanted to fly too! I mean, you looked just like an angel! Anyway, I'm Alaida, who are you?" she grinned at her. Naida blinked at such the upfront address and the closeness of the girl, though they were really about a foot away from each other. Naida couldn't really remember the last time someone was this close with friendly intention. Nor could she remember the last time anyone had attributed her flight to something nice, much less something as holy as an angel.
"I-I'm Naida…" she stuttered out, wishing she could shift away and cursing the fact she had sat right next to the tree trunk. Alaida grinned and jumped up, causing the branch they were both standing on to shiver and creak with ill intent. Naida sweatdropped.
"Ano… I wouldn't do that if I were you…" she said slowly as the branch creak ever more under the weight and sudden movement. Alaida blinked.
"Do wha-AAH!!" she cried sharply as the branch gave way under the stress with a mighty groan. Naida and Alaida fell tumbling to the ground. Alaida was screaming, reaching for the branch, unused to the feeling of free fall. But Naida's stomach adjusted first and she righted herself and grabbed her new friend, flying them to a lower, sturdier branch. The two sat there for a while, panting. Alaida's scarf started to wiggle again. Naida blinked at it, catching Alaida's attention to the same source.
"Oh, this is Scarfy." Alaida breathed out, like nothing had happened. The scarf reared it's "head" and Naida could make out something of a face in the stitching pattern. The face appeared screwed up in concentration, as though trying to remember something.
"AHAH!" it suddenly cried, making Naida jump back a bit. She didn't know it could talk… "I KNEW I recognised that chakra!" it did some sort of victory wiggle before giving Naida a sort of familiar look. "Still, didn't expect to find you there…" he trailed off, leaving both girls looking confused.
"Um, what?" Naida enquired to Alaida, who shrugged.
"I have no idea what he's on about…" Alaida shook her head. "He says weird stuff all the time though, so better not to listen." Naida nodded.
"No no! You stupid girl, this is the girl your parents were talking about!" Scarfy shouted suddenly, tightening around Alaida's neck and effectively strangling her. Alaida forced him loose before the words sunk in. She stared at Scarfy, then at Naida.
Naida had gone cold. Oh no, not again. Why was it that every time she found someone new they suddenly realised who she was? Now Alaida would run away screaming or crying to her mother or father. She waited for the inevitable… but it didn't come.
"Oh." was all Alaida said. Naida stared at her, fascinated. This girl was probably one of the weirdest people she had ever met. She was blunt, had a weird moving scarf, irresponsible, forward and really happy. Most of all, she wasn't even afraid of her at all.
And that's when Naida decided she liked her.