Yo!
Ok, guys, I'm in a sort of stuck spot right now, so these updates are going to be slow. Sorry, but i need to make sure the plot is heading in the right direction before I'm confident enough to post more chapters.
But anyway, back on topic. HAS ANYONE READ MY BLOG? It's totally awesome, but i have only one comment and I'm lonely. Please, please check it out, my link is on my profile.
So, topic of the chapter. Mothers. What is your relationship like with your mother? Is she a fire breathing dragon or an Angel? Personally, my mum is a fire breathing Dragon. While Dad and I are besties, mum and I just don't get along. :)
Fly On...
Heart of Diamond
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxo
Indi: The Hunting Falcon
Chapter 1: Birthday Girl
Indi POV
I was flying.
There is this sort of thrill every time you catch the wind under your wings. It's really unbelievable.
I was flying over New York. It was night, but the city that never sleeps seemed to be lit up like a candle. So beautiful in its own way.
This was the life.
To fly between buildings. To sour only centimetres over cars. To smell the rich foods. The sounds of music and laughter. The…
"STACKS ON INDI!"
Pause.
I guess I should introduce myself before I continue.
I'm Independence Ride. And today is the day I'm going to save the world. I'm going to run around and rescue cats from trees and old ladies from being hit by cars. Today, I'm going to save the president from a terrorist attack, take down oil mines, which are a secret layouts for a massive rockets…
Jokes, jokes. I mean seriously, me? Superhero? Blah. I'd have as much chance of being a super hero as I'd have a chance of meeting the president.
Today is just my birthday.
But I wasn't kidding on the part where I felt different today. I could feel something changing. Bird's 5th sense. Something big was about to happen…
Ok, Indi get back on topic.
So as you know, I'm Independence. Everyone calls me Indi though. I guess you could say I like Independence. I mean it's not everyone has 4 syllables in their first name.
Though Chase teases me by always watching 'Independence Day'.
Not funny Chase.
I am the eldest child of Maximum and Fang Ride. But you're probably thinking so what? Well we're special. All my family are.
I have wings. And powers. And super healing. And… I'm mentally enhanced to be about 25.
Pretty cool ha?
But no we're not superheros. Gees, It's not like I've bitten by a radioactive spider or born in a test tube or something.
Ok, but it's also not like I've ever thought about it. I mean saving the world? That sounds soooo cool…
Back on topic Indi.
It kinda normal for us though, I mean, I live on an island. It was once an old Navy base but Mum made a deal or something and made this place a refuge for all mutated animals.
There is my species I guess, known as Homo Aquila, but technically we're simply Angels. There are other species too. Dragons, Unicorns, Mermaids, Snakes with flipper feet known as Dippers, oversized mice that can build their own booby traps against predators, thousands of different types of birds, a Kraken or two in the deep waters, dolphins that zoom straight up out of the water at nearly 300 km/h known as Skids, Insects with multi coloured shells and wings…
Of course, that's just to name a few. Don't even try and count the number of fish.
I've lived here my whole life. We only go off when someone needs to get to hospital. The last time I got off this Island was three years ago when my cousin Camomile was born.
That… is the problem.
Play.
I snapped out of my dream to find Luna, Quill and Elixir jumping onto me. They were squealing their heads off.
I burst out laughing. These kids made me so happy.
"Happy birthday Indi!" Luna cried.
Even though all three kids were like family to me, Luna was my only biological sibling. An exact replica of Mum. Blonde curly hair (I swear they look golden sometimes). Large beady eyes that expressed so much happiness.
Quill grabbed my second pillow and started hitting me with it, before I grabbed his sides and tickled him. He laughed uncontrollably and squirmed.
Quill was Gazzy and Coco's only son. He had a mop of ratty long blonde hair and beautiful green eyes. He was the cutest boy ever.
Elixir jumped on my bed, her little brown curls bouncing up and down. She was Nudge and Iggy's daughter. She had dark skin and the most gorgeous look on her face. I smiled every time I saw her.
"Wake up! Wake up!" Luna cried.
"Chase said to go and jump on you," Elixir said sitting on my stomach.
"Oh yeah?" I questioned, attacking her in the stomach. Lixie burst into fits of giggles. Luna screamed and ran out of the room.
"She's going to tickle me!" Luna cried running down the hall.
Quill ran out after her. Lixie screamed and laughed. "Gale! Vel! Help!"
I let her go and she ran out of my room screaming. "She's coming! She's coming!"
I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Gale appeared at the door. My brother was a splitting image of Dad. Black hair, black wings, emotionless expression. Not to mention the fact he could get agitated very easily. Though I think he got that from Mum.
"Terrorizing kids?" Gale questioned.
I sat up and shrugged. "Naturally."
Vel poked her head into the room. "Mum wants you over at our place. Dad's cooking."
Velvet looked so much like Nudge. Chocolate skin, curly hair, bright eyes. She's virtually the opposite of Gale. So bright and cheery all the time. Not to mention the fact she has an endless motor attached to her mouth.
She most defiantly got that from Nudge.
"Better be chocolate chip pancakes," I said.
Vel scoffed. "Of course. Come on Gale."
Before Gale could even argue, Vel pulled him out of my room and closed the door.
I flopped back onto my bed, grinning as I stretched.
Pause.
Welcome to the flock. The awesomest family in the universe.
Yes, I said awesomest. And I mean awesomest.
There is Max, Fang, Iggy, Ella, Nudge, Louis, Coco, Gazzy, Blaze, Angel, Accalia, Me, Chase, Velvet, Gale, Divine, Elixir, Luna, Cheater, Quill, Camomile, Nova, Sky and Total. Yep, just a few.
Oh, and Grandma and Grandpa.
Ok, ok, I'll take you through the details.
There is my family. Mum, who is the eldest, around 31. Dad, who is around the same age as Mum. Luna, Mini Mum, she's 4. Gale, Mini Dad, who's 13. Me, Independence, a mix of both. I turn 16 today.
There is Blaze and Angel. They've been together for 4 years now. Angel is 20 and Blaze is 21. They had a little girl named Camomile or Cam for short. She was the youngest in the flock being only 3.
Coco and The Gas Man. Of course, no one calls him that anymore. He's Gazzy and is 22. Coco, whose real name is Courage, is 24. Their child is Quill. He defiantly gets his mop hair from Gaz.
Ella and Louis. They lived in America. Ella wasn't like the rest of us. She was like part fish part human part bat, but she was still Mum's step sister. With leather wings and invisible scales that reflected in the sun, she was only 27. Louis was the same age. The only flock member 100% human.
They have two kids, Divine and Cheater. Divine has the swimming side of Ella. She can go into the water and develop flippers and webbed hands. It's pretty cool. She's 11. Cheater on the other hand has Ella's leather wings. He's only 4.
Grandma and Grandpa also lived off the island. They lived close to Divine and Cheater. Grandpa seemed to always know what Mum was thinking. It was as if they could hear each other's thoughts. Which was crazy. Grandpa was human.
Accalia lived with her boyfriend, Dew in the wolfan pack. She sent me e-mails constantly. She was the closest to a big sister as I could get. She is 18.
Then there was Total. Total lived with Angel and Blaze. I didn't know how old Total was but he seemed to be getting to the old side of his dog life now. I treated him wisely, he seemed to respect that.
Then there was Nova. His original name was Dragon, but it had to be changed since he was now a part of a species known as Dragon. Nova was as tall as the house, but he was stuck with Iggy. He and Iggy had a joint power. Iggy could see through Nova's eyes.
And Sky, Nova's mate, Mum's Dragon. Sky wasn't as tall as Nova, but had just as much energy. When I rode a Dragon, it was always Sky.
Of course, how could I forget Chase? He was only a year younger than me, but my absolute best friend in the entire world. My side kick, my right hand guy. I tell him everything and he does the same to me. I guess for as long as I could remember we've been friends.
Chase was Nudge and Iggy's son. Nudge is 28. Iggy is blind, but 31. Chase's sisters were Velvet, who was 13 (Gale's age) and Elixir who was 9.
"Hey Birthday Girl."
Speak of the Devil.
I ran my fingers through my hair as I looked up. Chase walked though my door. Of course, Chase was so modest. Barging in on me while I'm still in my PJ's.
But this was Chase for you.
Chase was slightly taller than me despite being a year younger. His hair was a dirty blonde. I'm sure it would look a hell lot nicer if he managed to wash if more than once a year. It had a slight curl to it and stuck out everywhere. Chase wore simple cargo shorts and a short sleave top, no shoes. His wings were a coffee colour, a slightly darker tone to his incredibly tanned skin. It came from the surfing he does with me near the cliffs.
Chase gave me a grin and held out his hand. "What's up?"
I took it and stood up. "Not much. It's just a birthday."
Chase raised an eyebrow. "You were meant to say 'the sky'."
I poked him in the ribs. "There is a roof before the sky."
Chase tutted. "You forgot about the air. There is air before the roof."
I snorted. "Why do we keep having this debate?"
"Because we are still kids," Chase grinned.
I glared at him. "You maybe. But I'm officially 16."
Chase shrugged. "Half was to 32."
I shoved his shoulder with mine as I walked towards the wardrobe and pulled out a random tank top and denim shorts. "You know, I feel like something is going to happen today. Turn around."
Chase spun around as I quickly changed. "Maybe because it's… um… your birthday."
The duh on the end of the sentence was left unsaid.
Once I threw my dirty PJ's over in the washing basket beside the door, Chase knew it was safe to look around. I ran my fingers threw my mop of curly black hair. "Nar. It's something more than that. Something is changing."
"I got you a present. That's a change," Chase said flopping himself onto my bed, putting his hands behind his head.
I closed my wardrobe and sent him a 'leader' glare, as Chase called it. It was the type of glare Mum gave us when we were doing something stupid. "You know I hate presents."
Chase pulled a box out of my pocket. He threw it to me. "I know. Here."
I caught it with one hand. I gave him a look before I opened.
It was a ring.
Just plain sterling silver. But the pattern was what looked like vines crisscrossing each other. It was beautiful.
Around the ring was a weaved pull-string-to-tighten bracelet. Blue, simple with a few beads.
I smiled. I knew why he got this. I had about 6 dark coloured bangles on each wrist, a couple of anklets on each foot, a ring on each hand and a necklace or two. I had a couple of handmade braids in my hair that I attached some of my grey feathers onto.
It was my style. Beachy tomboy surfer girl.
I slipped the bracelet and tightened it. I slipped the ring on fanning my fingers out to admire it.
I smiled and looked up. "Thanks."
Chase shrugged and smiled. "You welcome. Mum wants you back at my place. Dad's cooking."
Mmm. "So I've heard."
I moved towards my balcony. Our house was on the west side of the Island and I have had this room since I was born. I pulled back the chiffon curtains and revealed the open water that stretched beyond the island. At night, I would sometimes stay here for hours on end watching the sun slowly sink in the sky.
I looked back at Chase. "You coming?"
Chase groaned as he stood up. "You wanna go flying this afternoon?"
I sighed. "Mum's coming back at about 4. She'll want me to open the presents this afternoon."
Chase grinned. "Early morning sunrise?"
"Deal."
I jumped up onto the balcony rail and stretched my wings. My dull grey wings. It was sort of odd. I mean Mum had white wings, with brown flecks and Dad had black wings with a blue shine. I had grey wings but when they caught the right light, a flash of blue would reflect off the feathers.
Couching, I sprung from the rail and beat my wings to rise into the sky. I spun around in the air smoothly. Chase caught up to me together we angled down closer to the ground so we were barely glided 2 metres above the shore.
Neither of us said anything for a few seconds. Until I couldn't help it anymore.
"What's the one thing you remember most about America?"
"Beach bunnies?"
I gathered up a small amount of gas in my palm and flicked my fingers. A small ball of blue fire hit Chase in the neck.
"OW!"
"Sexist pig."
"You're just jealous."
I snorted. "In your dreams."
"At least I dream about people, unlike you who dreams about petrol fumes and neon lights."
"I do not thank you very much. I dream about lots of things."
Chase gave me that 'Ah ha. I totally believe you' sarcastic look.
I narrowed my eyes. "America is not all about petrol fumes and neon lights."
"Yeah sure."
More silence. I couldn't help but mull over my recurring dream again.
I sighed. "I got to get out of here."
Chase rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."
"Shut up! It's like a prison here Chase. I just want to get out and explore the world. I listen to all the stories the Mermaids tell of England, Australia, China, Africa… I just want to see it."
It was the only thing I wanted. I didn't care about presents or cakes or even Iggy's cooking (though, that was pushing it). I just wanted to see the world with my own eyes.
"Have you told your Mum?"
Pause.
That was the problem.
Mum seemed to have this thing in her mind that keeping me on this Island was for my own good. That I was happy here. That if I had everything I ever wanted, I could live here for the rest of my life.
Mum and Dad went to America all the time. They worked for the government as far as I knew, but it was sort of a part time thing. I knew they weren't doing normal work. Sometimes they would come back so battered and bruised they didn't have the energy to talk to us until after they had slept.
Though I knew nothing about what exactly they did.
Maybe they were superheroes.
Haha. Yeah right.
Sometimes when Dad had a feeling come to him, they would take off really quickly. Other times, it would be a few days before they left. Sometimes Iggy and/or Nudge would go with them too. One time all the adults went and I baby sat. They were gone for nearly 2 weeks. They wouldn't tell me where they went, but I knew it was somewhere dangerous.
The thought of that excited me.
Everything on this island was so 'kid' friendly it was starting to piss me off. There were no risks or chances to take. No adrenalin or speed. Everything was mellow and happy and calm and slow.
Where ever Mum and Dad went, I wanted to go too.
The first time I told Mum that, she had a fit.
Literally. I was 11 at the time. She kept shouting at me to never think that again. It scared me so much that I ran over to Chase's house and slept with him that night.
I brought it up occasionally. Mum seemed to want to shut it down and kept saying to put it out of my head. I didn't know how long it would be before I yelled at her.
I told Dad about it once. He just sat and listened. I could tell from his expression he knew what I was feeling. I also reckon he saw it coming. Dad seems to understand me more than Mum most days.
…
Play.
"Not recently, no," I said carefully. "I just feel… I don't know. I'm starting to get the feeling there is something she's not telling me. Something big."
Chase sighed. "Your Mum is stubborn."
"Tell me about it," I grumbled.
As we approached Chase's house, I pulled up, landing on the back porch. I was careful not to knock over the rocking chair. Done that before.
I opened the door and was instantly greeted by a number of different sounds. Kids screaming as they played chasy. The sizzling of pancakes. Adults chatting happily.
"INDI!"
"Happy birthday!"
I grinned as I gazed around the room. There were 12 in the room if you count Total. Lixie was throwing streamers everywhere using her little force power. Not to mention the paper cut out snowflakes flying around the room.
I should have mentioned that. Not only do we have wings, but we also gain powers.
Yeah, like real super powers.
Elixir's power is probably one of the coolest. She can control small objects with her hands and make them do what she wants. Only small objects though. Ones that weight less than a kilo or so, but still. She can make it do whatever she wants.
It was strange when she got it though. It freaked Mum and Dad out. In fact all the adults were freaked. It took them a while to settle down.
I occasionally see Dad flinch though every time Elixir uses her power.
It almost looks like he in in pain.
Hmmm…
Chase doesn't have a power. Neither did Vel, unless you include her power of talking non-stop for hours. As for Nudge and Iggy, Nudge could touch objects and sort of see an imprint of who has touched them in the past. Odd power, but interesting. She knows exactly whose stolen cookies from the cookie jar.
My bad.
Iggy on the other hand can 'feel' colours. It helps when he is blind and all. He also has a joint power with Nova. If he puts his hand on Nova's head, he can see through Nova's eyes. That's the main reason why everyone calls Nova Iggy's Dragon.
Nova has a power of calling to anyone, anywhere around the world. It's sort of like sending a text message.
As for my family, Mum and Dad both have a couple of powers. Mum can create illusions with her imagination, but only of living objects. She can also fly super speed, which I think is super awesome. Dad on the other hand can turn invisible. Well, he really blends into the back ground but still. He can also 'feel' the future. It's that power that causes Mum and Dad to leave the island for America all the time.
Gale can tell you exactly what time it is without a watch. Down to the millisecond. It's pretty cool. Luna on the other hand has a weird power. She can control where lightning strikes. No, she can't really control the weather, just where exactly lightning strikes.
Being the 4 year old she was, she nicknamed herself 'lightning girl'. Whenever a storm passed over, nothing could stop her from giving a lighting show to the whole family.
Gaz only had one power. A simple mimicking voices power. When we were kids, he used to trick us with his mimicking voice all the time. Gaz is the best uncle in the universe.
Coco has an odd power. She can see connections between people. Sort of light ropes. The ropes came in all different colours depending on the emotion the relationship was. It only came in waves though. They were so unexpected. You could never guess when she was going to have a wave.
As for Quill, he knows where missing objects are. I don't how or why he knows, but he just does. You go up to him and tell him you're missing a top or something, he'll tell you exactly where it is and how it got there.
Kinda spooky if you ask me.
Angel, Gaz's sister, on the other hand could breathe underwater, read minds and talk to sea animals. I like Angel, but she's kind of weird sometimes. She's just… I don't know, says things that sound weird.
Blaze could talk to animals. I guess that's why most of the experiments on the island can trust us so much. Blaze teaches them to listen to certain words to they can understand us. Nova and Sky are experts in understanding us.
As for Camomile, she doesn't have a power yet.
Ella has a weird power of being able to align her scales so she looks like some liquid mirror. Louis of course doesn't have a power, but he has Scales, the massive oversized dragon. Seeing Ella and Louis live in the high mountains, Scales has tons of free space to fly around in.
That Dragon was an Ancient wonder of the world.
Divine has two powers. Firstly, she can make her hands glow in the dark. She can get them quite bright too. I like that power. Secondly she is a shifter. Mostly she can turn into rocks. All rocks including gems. Strange I know, but yes it seems rocks aren't all that hard to turn into. But she can also turn into an Imperial eagle. So far that's it, but both Mum and Ella guess she might be able to do more if she worked on it and trust me, she was desperate to turn into something else other than a rock.
Cheater I reckon was part tree. He could breathe through the pores of his skin. He could seriously hold his breath for years. I guess that how he can breathe underwater. His skin would suck in oxygen and then breathe it out.
Yep, defiantly part tree.
My power on the other hand is pretty sick.
I produce this gas from my hands. It's so flammable that I can ignite it with a click, but it's also a joint power with Mum and Dad. They were both resistant to my flames for some reason.
My flame is blue. Like electric blue.
"Indi!" Cam cried running to me. "Wappy birfday!"
I chuckled picking her up and putting her on my hip. "Thankyou Cami. You look very pretty today."
Of course, Cam always looked pretty. With her blonde curls and an obsession for pink, Cam always looked like a little Angel.
"Vel dwessed me!" Cam cried happily.
"Well she did a very good job," I said kissing her forehead. Cami giggled.
Angel came over, Blaze not far behind her. She kissed my cheek. "Happy birthday, Indi."
I smiled. "Thanks Angel."
Blaze ruffled my hair. "It's hard to believe you're all grown up! I still remember when you were this big." He made a really small example.
I rolled my eyes and shoved him. Blaze laughed. He was seriously more like an older brother than an uncle, but he was a great father to Cami.
Coco ran up to me and hugged me warmly. I laughed. Coco was probably the liveliest one out of the flock, followed closely by Nudge.
"Happy birthday Indi," Coco said.
Gaz was beside her, Quill in his arms. Gazzy was more of the secretive type. One that may seem friendly on the outside, but he had a wicked streak through him. When it came to explosions, Gaz and Iggy were to blame.
But these days it was usually Velvet.
Coco took Cam from me and let Gazzy bring me into a one armed hug. "You're all grown up."
"Gees, you make it out as if I am old," I scoffed. Gazzy chuckled at that.
Velvet led her father over to me. Iggy was like a second Dad in my opinion. He took care of me when Mum and Dad were out.
"Happy Birthday, chicken!" Iggy said cheerfully.
I punched him in the gut. "I'm not a chicken."
Iggy laughed heartedly and ruffled my hair, mimicking Blaze's actions earlier. "It's hard to believe it's been 15 years."
I glanced at Ig, but he seemed to have this half this surreal expression. 15 years… since what? I'm 16 now.
"Good morning Indi," Nudge said walking over to me, rubbing her hands on her apron. She picked up a stack of pancakes from beside the stove and placed them gently on the kitchen bench. "Eat up and then we'll do presents."
I glared at Chase. "I thought I told you to tell them to not get me presents."
Chase avoided my gaze. "No you didn't."
"Dufous head."
"You're a dufous head."
"Your face is a dufous…"
"Enough!" Chase's Mum cried. "Is that seriously the only thing you two do all day? Chase, go and help Vel bring in the washing."
"Yes Mum," Chase mumbled, but when Nudge walked off, he glared at me. "You're a million times more of a dufous head."
I gapped at the mocked joke. Chase smugly began to walk off when I sent him another small ball off flame hitting him in the back of the head.
"OW! God Indi, stop that."
The other kids giggled. Chase glare at me rubbing the back of his neck. I simply gave him a shrugged grin.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
This is by far the longest chapter i have EVER writtern, but I needed to get the facts out. :) REVIEW!
BTW what do you think of Chase and Indi? :P