All Mistakes

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    Trouble nodded, eyes closed tight for a moment as he was dragged up. "Standing- of course, standing is easy." His words were drifting slightly together, but he looked like he was doing his best to hold on to consciousness. For a moment, the dark static threatened to close in on his vision, but then it started to clear. "I'm alright." He mumbled, leaning on Soni as he took a wobbly step forward. This was not alright- and it probably wouldn't end well either, but he realized, with some foggy thought, that he had to keep moving. Listen- just had to listen to Soni, she knew what she was talking about. Of course Soni knew what she was talking about- what was she talking about again? Right. He just had to hold out, keep going. Walking was a simple enough function, though it took babies months to properly learn. Relatively, it may of been simpler than flying, but he had picked up flying pretty well. It helped that half the teaching he'd gotten in flying was literally being thrown off of high places to see how well he picked it up. Luckily he'd managed to glide on his first attempt.


    Mira still had her odd, slightly hunched look about her. Her wings were still folded around her shoulders, like an angel statue in a church. Her expression was empty, almost confused, but she didn't seem unaware of what had happened- she understood it perfectly. She'd been surrounded by death since she was able to realize what it meant. The ones in the cages next to her, they would go for one final experiment and never come back. Sometimes she would be able recognize screams, pinpoint who it would belong to, and she would know who wasn't coming back that night. This was why she had a hard time making friends, anyone but those she trusted the most already. That had been Kip. Kip and Skye, and they were both dead. She had trusted them not to die, and now they both lay lifeless, leaving her alone. It was like the colors around her had faded to grey, and everything seemed to move differently. Detached, not affecting her directly. Did she care? Yes. Of course she cared, Soni and Trouble. They were all she had left and one of them might die- he looked like he might collapse and die right there. She felt like she had stopped for a moment, just for a moment, a long time ago. Just rested for a moment and when she stood again, everything had changed, she had to grow up and sit down, learn how to survive somewhere that wanted to squeeze every drop of life from her veins and then throw her away. She had escaped from that- but was this any better? The running, needing to fight for her next breath of air- how was this any better really?
    Except it was.
    She was free. She could fly. She didn't sleep in a cage.
    Yes, this was a better world, with or without Kip in it. Wordlessly, she took Soni's free hand in hers, hoping to offer support of some kind, without saying anything. She couldn't get words to come, and even if she could, what was there to say?

    "That's right, Trouble. Standing is easy, just one foot in front of the other and you're walking. Sounds easy enough," Soni had tightened her grip around his shoulders, he looked terrible, and it concerned Soni more than she would have liked. In a lower tone, the avian whispered,"You can't die, Trouble. Not today. Please, for Mira and I, just keep walking. Just to the front of the hospital," she pleaded, the girl realized that David was still at the waiting room of the hospital, as he had been there when she had come back in for Trouble. He would be able to drive them out of town, or somewhere safe, or Soni could simply steal his car, because at the rate Trouble was walking, they weren't getting anywhere.Though she was stronger than the average human, and Trouble was lighter than any teenager his age, Soni was exhausted, and feeling most of his weight against her proved more of a challenge than she had suspected. She was taken by surprise as the little girl took her hand. It was comforting, it ensured Soni that Mira would live through her brother's death, and Soni merely wished that the three living avians would all manage to make it through one more day. Then one more day. Always one more day. After shaking the thoughts loose from her mind, Soni gave Mira's hand a squeeze, though she was unable to manage a smile, or meet the girl's gaze.
    With Trouble held up by one of her arms, and Mira clinging to her other hand, Soni tugged them both along, though her steps with Trouble were short and unstable. "Almost there, come on," she urged, desperate to get the avian somewhere he could finally rest.
    One thing was for sure, they made quite an interesting entrance. Staggering along, wings dipping away from their shoulders, both Mira and Soni's tattered attire. Though Soni guessed once people saw their wings, it wouldn't really matter if they looked well-kept and clean or injured and living in the streets. David, as expected, was standing anxiously by the glass door, tapping his foot restlessly, and he looked as if he would say something but Soni simply didn't let him. "You've got a car. Get it," she ordered, still worried for Trouble as he dragged himself onward.

    Trouble took a deep breath once out the hospital, the world around him slipping by. He felt himself beginning to drift away, but took just one more step to steady himself. He needed to stay awake. What had Soni said? She had said something. "Walking- no I'm pretty sure that isn't easy." He muttered, once what she had said caught up to his mind "load of motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and a load of other stuff." He stopped rambling then, looking and trying to see things. Seeing was simple as well, but processing was different. Processing was difficult. Did he just see a shadow over the stars, or was he seeing things? Perhaps he was simply seeing things, it seemed unlikely that there would be something flying that quietly, and if it were the school, they could easily stop and take them out now. Trouble was in no condition to fight, and he had the suspicion that if it came to it, Mira might just not. Not fight- at the very least, she would run, but he was almos sure she wouldn't fight. As for him, literally, almost the only thing keeping him up right then was Soni, both mentally and physically. "Soni, I don't f-feel so great." He mumbled, letting his head droop forward and closing his eyes "think 'm'gonna die." Now that had slipped out without really thinking. He felt an awful lot like he might die- just keep over on the side of the street.


    Mira didn't seem to respond to Soni, or Troubles remark either. She was back in her own thoughts, which were running in circles. Why was she like this? Kip was dead. Why was he dead? Because (to shorten the story) they had been born with wings. Why were they born with wings? Because of some scientists. Why was she thinking like this? Because Kip was dead. It was the same old thoughts, around and around in her mind, not really going anywhere.

    Soni shook her head, as if she wasn't going to listen to him any longer,"Trouble, d*mmit, you are either going to make it through or we are going back into the hospital. You aren't going to die, come on…Trouble, not today," despite her best efforts to hide it, panic flooded her voice, swept all calmness from her eyes and contorted her brow in a worried furrow. She paused, halting just outside the hospital doors, waiting for even a slight sign that Trouble would keel over right there and die on the sidewalk. There wasn't any way that Soni would be able to handle not only one death, but two. Losing the only people she had grown close to wasn't something she could currently handle, and she didn't want to look broken or vulnerable in front of anyone. In fact, she didn't think she would even bother protesting if the school attempted to kill or take her. Now, as long as Mira or Trouble hung in there, the avian would fight against the school, she would spend her last breath fighting against the white-coats.
    David was waiting anxiously by his car as he pulled up. He had done just as Soni had ordered him, starting his car and driving it as close to the hospital doors as possible so they could make their getaway if needed. But Soni looked like she had second thoughts about leaving for the good of her friend, and it left David dubiously fiddling with the keys to the cars, waiting to see if his service was still required.
    Her heart hammered against her rib, so loud Soni was rather certain that both Mira and Trouble could hear it. Her eyes were trailing over the boy's expression, searching his eyes for any sign of death. Her feet ached with exhaustion, though sleep seemed so far away. Soni didn't think she would sleep for nights to come, knowing that Kip and the school would haunt them inevitably.

    Trouble shook his head, letting out an attempt at a laugh "Hospital? That's where we were at?" His words were starting to drift together but some how he actually managed sarcasm- at a time like this. Trouble was almost literally half dead and he was being sarcastic. "Sorry- M'sorry. I'll be allrigh'" He muttered after a moment, forcing his eyes back open and focusing his mind on one point. Just the simple process of living, he could manage that. Walking? Sure, of course he could walk. If he could live, he could walk. Besides, he could hear an engine, not to far away, and assuming this was a ride, then he could rest then. Sleep even- there ought to of been a reason he couldn't sleep, but he couldn't remember it right now. Honestly, Trouble couldn't remember much, there was about a million different things running through his head, none of which he was processing. What kept cropping up was the question of Rose- where was she? But then he would keep answering with the same thing. Rose was dead, or at least missing. He wasn't entirely sure who was dead or alive anymore, including himself, and upon realizing this, he snapped his head back up and took a sharp intake of breath "Sorry! I'm awake- promise, I'm awake. Jus' fine. Lets go." He said, blinking, trying to focus on the world around him.


    Mira realized then that she had been squeezing Soni's hand- not something she'd meant to do. Quickly, she loosened her grasp, but didn't want to let go, in case...It was probably an irrational fear, but Mira felt like a small child in a crowd of people. Everything was moving very quickly, threatening to sweep her away. What ended up bringing her mind back into reality was a large drop of something very cold falling onto her head with startling accuracy- rain. She soon concluded it was rain, as there were suddenly more drops, splattering against the ground around them in large drops, and clattering against the metal of Davids truck and the other surfaces around. Upon looking up, she had the sudden feeling as if the sky was rushing at her face in small pieces, crashing down around her, as each droplet was illuminated by the nearby lights. Her mind felt oddly detached for that moment, a nice feeling, as her life had been thrown into more chaos than before. As it turns out, that was actually possible.

    "Yeah, Trouble. You're gonna be fine," Soni narrowed her eyes and peered up at the clouds as they let to the small water droplets they were holding captive. And it didn't last as small water droplets for more than a mere moment, soon the drop and covered the ground. Small darkened spots on the pavement merging together in shapes and forms until the images had collided to make a puddles in the dips in the ground. Unlike Mira, Soni didn't find the rain as a nice feeling. Every little drop seemed to weight her down, seeping into her clothes until they hugged her sides, and plastering her hair against her head. They were all terrible memories, breaking and banging at her composure, all horrid reminders of every mistake she had made. It made her heart ache with the pain of the past, the present and even the future. Where could she honestly go from here? Just when she though there wasn't anyway they could drop deeper into their grave they did. She no longer doubted that things could get worse. It felt like hell raining against the bare skin of her arms. She felt like she was being beaten, thrown into the ground by the sky. It felt queer, that the sky, that she had once considered a place of freedom, was now cursing her with more burdens, like the live she was forced to live wasn't a burden enough. Kip was on the roof still, and Soni let out a gasp at the thought. His dead form being pelted with rain, making his already pale face look even more vacant. It hurt to know that he was stuck ontop of a building so ironically like the school. But she shook her head, sending a few drops of water from the ends of her hair. She lurched forwards, and for a moment it wasn't clear if she was falling or urgently pulling Mira and Trouble into the car. Fortunately, she made an effort to push Mira into the car door as David-who had made his way around to them-opened the door for them. Soni helped Trouble into the car, pushing him next to Mira before she got in after him and David abruptly slammed the door.
    David had closed the door for the avians and immediately rushed to the drivers seat, pulling himself in. He was drenched with water and the inside of the door was covered in droplets from being opened. "I can't let you guys sleep in the forest in this rain, I have a place at the edge of the city you guys can wait it out in," he said, pressing his foot to the gas medal as he pulled out of the parking lot.

    Trouble closed his eyes as soon as his legs no longer needed to support him- not that they had been doing a great job of it before. The grey wave of unconsciousness nearly washed over his mind, edging his vision for a moment before the movement of the truck jolted him back. They weren't tied up so he figured it was safe to assume they were not in any immediate danger. Doing a quick check, out of pure habit, he noted something. After checking again, he frowned. "Where's Kip?" He asked, not remembering what Soni had told him earlier. As it was, he was struggling to keep his mind awake, like a swimmer treading water in the middle of the ocean. He had to give out some time.


    Mira was mildly surprised at being shoved into the vehicle, but went with it anyways, quickly curling up her knees to her chest and folding her wings, taking up as little space in the seat as was possible. With her chin tucked into her knees, only her eyes and nose showed as she stared ahead, ignoring the world around her once more. This was a childish response, and she knew it, as she also knew she could do better, but none the less, she didn't. Just didn't- besides, there was nothing for her to do at the moment anyways. Just wait.

    The avian was to tired to even protest against David's change of plans, besides, she figured everyone could use the chance to sleep with a roof over their hands. Soni put her head against the window, letting the dips in the road make her forehead hit uncomfortably against the cold glass. Each time head head hit against the glass, she let reality slip in a little deeper. She didn't look at Mira to make sure she was okay. Or glance at Trouble as he spoke, but instead took her time to answer him, her voice as cold and sharp as the rain crashing the the windshield,"On the roof," she said bluntly, not offering an explanation for the moment. Every part of her wanted to cry and pull at her hair and curl up tightly to pretend the world didn't exist. But she couldn't, she knew that painfully to well. As silence spread throughout them, no one seemed to want to disturb it, but Soni knew if she didn't bring herself to speak, she wouldn't be able to tell Trouble at all. "He's dead, Trouble. Someone. Shot. Him," Soni grumbled, her fingers driving anxiously into the leather car seats and making short white scratches. She shifted upright, deciding she could break away when everyone was asleep to break down. Her fingers slowly released to edge of her seat and moved to toy with the needle she had stuffed into her pocket. Her eyes closed tightly, and a few streets lights seeped through the window and illuminated the distracted green gaze that Soni had opened to stare at her wet shoes.

    Trouble stared at her, not processing this information immediately. Someone shot him. Someone shot Kip- how had that even happened? When had that happened? How long had he not been awake? There were to many questions, to many thoughts, and all he managed to get out was "oh. I'm...I'm sorry." Before his mind sank back into darkness, leaving him almost blissfully empty of it all. In a moment, just briefly, he was sucked into an old memory, a relatively good time. It had been him and Rose, they'd escaped the school- this was before she turned him back in, or tried to anyways. A forest, where the sun was shining and the moss was soft, and it was warm. Warmth was not a common factor in Troubles life, and in his memory, he was sprawled on his stomach, letting the sun soak into his wings and back. Eyes closed and breathing slow, he was sound asleep, both in memory and in life, finding refuge in sleep.


    Mira had no such luck. The little girl was holding back a shout, a scream- just an endless sound that would some how help. She was curled still, almost painfully tight, biting on her lip to keep the noise back. She wanted to go. Go back. Not that this would help. Kip was dead and going back in time was impossible. This wasn't a maze in the labs where the walls would be scrambled and she'd be able to run through again, whether she liked t or not. This was not something she got another shot at- Kip was dead and there was nothing she could change about that. Nothing. A thin, suppressed sound began to escape her, a small wail, and she bit harder on her lip. This time she tasted blood, but the sound was lost again, petering away as she went silent.

    Soni merely shrugged, trying to seem as if she weren't affected by the news. She was. But no one had to know that. She closed her eyes and sat silently, her hands in her lap and her gaze numbly staring at the headrest of the passenger seat in front of her. "I'm sorry too, but it happens," Soni grimaced as the words split from her lips, realizing how cold it sounded only after she had said it. Her goal was to not show how much it had affected her, not to make it seem like she didn't care at all. But so didn't say anything to recover from it, both Trouble and Mira weren't capable of protesting, and David wasn't going to interfere with anything he didn't know about. Rain splattered against the top of her car, making a heavy clap against the metal. It rushed to the slats in the streets that broke off into gutters, and didn't let up. Thunder crackled, accompanied by streaks of lighting that broke apart the building storm clouds with jagged white lines.
    Suddenly it stopped, and Soni glanced out the window, only to see gardening tools. The car had been turned off as they entered the garage of David's house and very gently he suggested,"We've got a spare bed and two couches," he announced, opening his door and moving to unlock the door to the house, at the same time closing the garage door. He waited patiently for the avians just inside the house after her had scuffed some water from his shoes on a rug outside.
    Soni snapped herself from her daze, cracking open the car door and slipping out before offering her arm as help to Trouble, and merely assumed Mira would follow David inside.

    Trouble felt like he was swimming with bricks tied to his feet, the surface just out of reach. He did manage to slide out of the seat though, his knees buckling on the ground as he stumbled forward. Head drooping, he took an unsteady step forward before reverting to letting Soni help him. Just a little farther and you can go back to sleep. Proper sleep- without a bunch of chemicals being pumped into you. He told himself silently, trying to focus. Focusing was difficult when the world kept spinning around you like some crazy carousel without music. He nearly ran into the door frame going through it, and remembered that his wings wouldn't actually fit unless he folded them all the way. There were way to many things to remember at the moment, much like taking off his shoes, as worn and battered as they were, or remembering how to walk and breath at the same time. Simple little things. None the less, as soon as he made it within falling distance of the couch, he fell on it, almost asleep before he hit the cushion. It looked almost comical, his cheek pressed into the far cushion with his feet hanging off the end, one wing folded to avoid being bent by the back of the couch and his arm and other wing just draped off the side. Not quite comfortable in appearance, but he found it so.


    Mira took a few moments in the car as the others left, before slowly unfolding herself and walking after them on silent feet. She was still slightly crunched, her arms crossed over her chest, as if she might fall apart if she let go. In an odd way, Mira's expression was that of one she would of held at the school, when she was caged up. Apprehensive, distrustful and watching- so carefully watching, her golden eyes seemed like they could of seen through the wall, though at the moment they didn't seem to be seeing much at all. Just looking at the ground, avoiding other peoples gaze and making sure she didn't run into anything. The hesitation of entering the building was only momentary as she figured there wasn't a reason not to. Had David wanted to harm them, he could of easily at any point lately. It would of been one twisted plan if they waited until this point to betray them- then again, this was the school they were talking about.

    Soni's thoughts were reeling, jumping and jerking and clawing at her. Screaming and shouting and yelling to get her attention. But somehow, she muted them all, all at once, and for a moment, not a single trail of thought wandered through her head. For a scary second, Soni wondered if this feeling was similar to one before death. Nothing but an emptiness before falling asleep and merely forgetting to wake up. But the girl abruptly brought herself out of her head, realizing that she had retreated into the house, and that Mira was standing numbly nearby, and then there was Trouble, collapsed in an exhausted heap on the couch. It would have been quite humorous had it not been for the fact that Kip was not there to find it funny with them.
    David was staring at Soni, waiting for her to move or speak. He was slightly concerned. Mira, Trouble, and Soni all appeared to be half dead, though as far as he could tell, Trouble was the only one injured badly. "The guest bedroom is down this hallway," he suggested quietly, lifting his arms to point down the hall way.
    The avian was pulled from her thoughts instantly, and very gently she put her hand against Mira's shoulder. She slowly began ushering the girl down the hall, eager to let the girl get to sleep. She on the other hand would very possibly be up for hours, pondering and poking at the days events.


    {Sorry for late reply and shorter post! ;) Thanks for being patient!}

    Lost in her own world of thoughts, Mira momentarily shrank away from Soni, not remembering what was going on until a split second later. Allowing herself to be lead down the hall, she sniffed quietly, finding that her nose was starting to run, and used the back of her sleeve to wipe some rain water off the tip- it seemed to be dripping down from her hair. Or maybe she was crying again, as that answer made much more sense, considering her hair was mostly dry by now. Maybe she was going to wake up, there had been dreams like this before, right? Where everything just kind of descended into chaos. Except- no, that couldn't be right. Soni was alive, and Trouble. Usually everyone died in a dream, which made this all the more terrible. It meant this was real. It meant that Kip was dead and there wasn't anything she could do about it. "Soni," She said, her voice small and quiet, though she wasn't sure what she was going to say. How long had it been since they were in the school? Since they ran away into the night, since Trouble and Kip went tumbling out of the sky and Trouble just tagged along afterwards. Everything was moving very quickly, she was growing up and people were dying. Kip was dying, and Skye wasn't here. She could probably be safely assumed dead, and Trouble almost died. But maybe death was better for them than the school, they wouldn't need to run anymore, they could all rest. No more hoops to jump through, or mazes to run. Just sleep.


    "We're better off than at the school." she said, sniffing again, and then going quiet, retreating back into the quiet part of her mind.


    [[I'm glad I came back ^^' I've nearly left this website a couple times now. Haven't checked back in a while- this is kind of the only thread I've got going these days, I don't mind waiting for a response, sorry this one took a while]]

    The avian felt the small girl cringe away and spared a brief glance down at her, but as she did Mira appeared to calm down. They reached the guest room and Soni let a heavy sigh escape her lips, breathing out the thoughts that were overwhelming her.


    Soni was almost beginning to doubt this statement. We're better off than at the school. Are we really? At least at the school we had a place to sleep, even if it was a cage at least we had something over our heads. And they did supply us with food, even if it was terrible and not satisfying, at least we knew we weren't going to starve...What the hell are you thinking, Soni? Of course we are better off than at the school. You'd rather die than go back to that place. Everyday you were stuck in there you fought to get out. And now that you're out you are fighting to stay out. That's what we are all doing. For a moment the avian wondered what would have happened if she had left the school without Kip and Mira. She might not have cared much when she made the decision, but now, now that she had traveled with them for weeks, she couldn't even bring herself to the thought of leaving them.
    "Of course, Mira. We are better off than being at the school," Soni nodded in agreement, gently patting the girl's shoulder before moving towards the bed. She tugged the cream sheets down so Mira could crawl in and tossed the decorative pillows to the side of the bed. "Now, why don't you get some sleep? I'm sure you could use it," she whispered quietly gesturing towards the bed before turning towards the door.


    {I'm glad you came back! ;) I love this thread with you, you are an awesome writer :-[. Thanks for being patient with my replys, I've been quite busy. :D}

    Nodding silently, Mira took off her damp jacket and ran her hands through her hair- it was getting longer. It was still kind of this odd, choppy pattern due to one thing or another in the school, and she hadn't ever bothered to grow it out and cut it. Maybe tomorrow David would have some scissors and she could ask Soni to cut it. It was kind of strange, like her mind was just kind of running without much thought, like she was very tired and this was just a usual process for it. To make sure everything was still in working order. Still breather? Yup. Heart beat? Still solid. Everything's handy-dandy-fine. Of course, it really wasn't. Climbing into the bed like a kitten, she tugged the blankets up to her chin, and then wiggled down slightly, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them there. Her wings were still folded against her back, and she rolled slightly so the one against the bed wouldn't be crushed if she unfolded them. Closing her eyes, she seemed to fall into sleep, everything shutting down around her, though she almost asked Soni not to leave. She didn't want to be alone, but the words didn't leave her mouth before sleep captured her mind.


    Trouble felt like he was trying to wake up. Except he wasn't waking up- there also seemed to be something important going on. What was it? Oh well, no matter. He was dreaming. For Trouble, there were dreams, which usually turned out to be nightmares, and there were the other type of dreams. They were the weird ones really, the ones where sometimes he was just standing on the street with people passing and no one seemed to notice him, or other such events. Those dreams didn't normally come up, but when they did, no one ever saw him. He could dance right in front of someone, and they wouldn't see him- it was like he didn't exist. This was one of those dreams. He was in a place he recognized as the school, but not the one he started out in. He knew what that one looked like. Besides, this one had fewer windows. Walking along the floor, he shivered, finding that he was barefoot- and younger. He looked like a child again, by the feel of it, maybe seven. He remembered being seven distinctly because that was when he was sick for most of the year- the school eventually had to actually get him out of the icy rooms they usually were all kept in. He got to sleep in a proper bed for a bit, and then it was back to the kennel, but Rose had been happy. From one of the cages, he saw a set of rather familiar eyes- he couldn't quite place them. He wasn't given time to think about this, as a door flashed open, followed by the sound of heavy rain and arguing people. One of them was carrying something slung over their back- the person was an Eraser, by assumption, he was certainly built like one. It was in this moment that Trouble heard a shout from the cage he'd been inspecting before, and then a flash of pain burnt through his mind, waking him up.


    He'd fallen off the couch. Very slowly, the avian picked himself up and returned to the crumple heap of a position that he slept in before hand, not precisely sleeping now, rather than just laying with his eyes closed, listening to his surroundings.

    Soni had come to an abrupt stop in the doorway. She closed her eyes and slowly brought her hands to her face before sliding her fingers back to run through her hair. Her nails curled into her palm until her hand formed a tight fist, and she brought her knuckles to her lips, opening her eyes and staring distantly at the ground. Everything was shattering, just like she knew it would. Soni knew everything would eventually break, everything around her always did. But that was the price for being a project. The wings on her back that allowed her to fly, to fly with a sense of freedom, seemed cruelly ironic. The gift of flight and freedom was just a taunting curse of something she could never have. Solemn, the girl twisted her head to look back at the little girl, and relief washed over her to see that she been taken away from the dreadful nightmare they were living and into the depths of sleep. For a moment, Soni didn't budge. Her feet refused to move. She didn't want to be alone, but at the same time she also wanted to be by herself, without anyone depending on her. After a long moment of hesitation, merely staring absently at Mira, her battered shoes inched forwards and her hands dropped lazily to her sides as she crept towards the living room where Trouble had collapsed.
    David had vanished somewhere further in the house to collect blankets and spare pillows for his unexpected guest. He didn't expect the winged people to stay very long, although they look like they really just needed to stay in one place and recuperate for a while.
    Soni slumped down in a chair across from the couch, and a thought hit her forcefully. She was exhausted. She was ready to give in to the pain throbbing in her head, and the shock that was zapping at her mind. But she had to stay up, she had to keep herself awake, she couldn't let anything happen to Mira or Trouble. She needed to take watch. It was disappointing to know that no one would wake up and demand that she get rest while they exchanged shifts. Stay awake...being up for a little longer can't hurt anymore.....No...you can't go to sleep. It only took a few mere moments for Soni to realize how hard it was going to be to keep watch as sleep threatened to overwhelm her, much like everything else. Her dulled green optics trained on Trouble for a moment. He looked to be asleep, and normally she wouldn't have put it past him to fake it, though knowing how miserably tired he must have been, after being shot and all, Soni didn't think twice about it.
    The wingless boy came into the room after a few minutes, blankets spilling from his arms and pillows blocking his view. He dropped one at the edge if the couch by Trouble, then one by Soni, accompanying the fluffy pillow with a blanket. "Just let me know if you guys need anything," David whispered before retreated to his own bedroom to leave her be.

    "Y'know they'll probably leave us alone for a bit now." Trouble's voice was slow, and his words threatened to bump together as they were muffled into the couch cushion. He could tell that Soni was back in the room without looking, and he could tell she was awake still. Just feelings he got. He wasn't entirely sure what he was saying, but words were definitely coming out of his mouth right now. The avian was half asleep, and a quarter dead. Nothing was really making much sense. Kip was dead, Soni was miserable, Mira was probably distraught and he'd been shot. Everything was just shiny. Fine and dandy. There was a noise like static in his mind, and his ears felt like he'd flown up to high and needed to pop them. He remembered when he was out flying the first time, he had flown up to high and started to see spots- even with the special internal build avians had along with their wings, and Rose had shouted at him to get down. He wondered how Rose was, and if she was really dead- there had been someone who told him she was dead, hadn't there? How were they doing for that matter? Still alive? He was curious who was even alive of dead anymore. He felt awfully dead. Best make sure. "Soni," He still sounded drunk "Am I dead yet?" this was not asked with any sort of remorse or anticipation, much like a bored child would ask if they were there yet, when they knew for a fact that they were still a good few hours from "there".


    There was a newcomer in the school- several newcomers in fact. What was it with all the new people lately? And they were all fairly old- well, not the little one. Some of them had wings, and the latest didn't appear to be alive, but things like that had happened. He didn't have very many vital signs that registered on most of anything, he could pretend to be dead any time he pleased. Not that he liked to be dead, it got awfully cold. Of course, he was always cold. The school was a cold place. What about everywhere else? Maybe these people had seen places elsewhere, but the little one just curled up like a pillbug (he got those on the floor sometimes, they were fun to play with and didn't taste so bad either). The other one didn't talk either, just kind of looked at him with those big eyes for a moment and then reached through the bars to the little one. Sometimes when he pretended to sleep, he could hear them whispering. Sometimes they were moved to another section of kenneling, and there would be other ones, two older ones who shouted sometimes. The one who smelled like the wolves usually looked to be in bad shape. They didn't shout so much after the first day. None of them ever attempted a conversation either, but he didn't mind so much. Talking wasn't something he was good at. But he liked the wings, they were pretty, and looked warm. Maybe he'd work on growing his own pair, sometimes the bigger appearances took a while to fix up, but usually just general facial features would come within a few minutes, height over night.


    [Just a pair of eyes in the school, hope you don't mind ^^]]

    Soni was glad David had left, she didn't feel like dealing with him. She had her own self to deal with. The muffled voice, slurring with exhaustion that roused from the couch didn't surprise the girl, as she had suspected possible, Trouble was awake. She had moved to throw her legs over the arm of the chair, her torso pressed against the bottom of the chair while her head rested against the other arm rest. An attempt to get comfortable after a day that needed to end already. Soni slowly rolled her head to the side to look over at Trouble,"The boy wakes. How are you feeling after getting shot? Good day?" Her gaze settled on Trouble, and she was to tired to look somewhere else, so all she could do was stare. Look at the way his wings folded awkwardly and how his hair pressed to his forehead.


    "No, you're not quite there yet. But you did give it your best shot," Soni remarked, her voice drab and lazy, like she couldn't spare any more effort to speak.
    Her mind was trampling her with questions, and then answering them for her. But other things wandering her mind didn't have answers, or solutions. Like why Kip had to be dead. And where Becka had run off to. And if Sky had, in fact, been killed for good. Or how Collin, and Danny, and Alexa were holding up at the school. It seemed to overwhelming, everything was happening to quickly, her brain was trailing laggardly behind the action. Dwelling in the past with her heart as they both desperately struggled to recall what happened so she could figure out how to feel in the present. Utterly confusing work, keeping up with her feelings. Kip was dead. Every now and then the thought was there, clear, and present, gnawing at her heart. And then there were times it felt like a terrible, nightmare, where everything was wrong. Like most nightmares. On top of that, now it was her responsibility to take care of Mira, and Trouble until he was fully healed. Soni felt a pang begin to beat in her head. The needle filled with green liquid-identical to the one that kill Kip-was suddenly heavier in her pocket. Quickly shifting fascinations, she reached for the pillow and blanket that David had left at her feet, shoving the pillow behind her head, then dropping the quilt over her damp clothes.


    {Of course not! Always need to know what's going on!! :D}

    "Oh yeah, great day." He said dryly, shifting slightly so his face wasn't quite so pressed into the couch cushions. There was a rustle of feathers as he managed to fold his wings properly so that he could actually be comfortable on the couch. "Don't remember most of it though." He chuckled slightly, but stopped just as quickly- laughing hurt. Heck, breathing hurt. Everything kind of ached, and he wasn't entirely sure why. Of course, he was, but the idea kept slipping away, little facts, Kip was dead. Kip was dead.
    This wasn't a little fact.
    This wasn't a dream.
    This was very real.
    The realization showed on his face, and the world came slamming back into him, as if the meds had entirely left his system, as if now he was just rather dozy from blood loss- he missed the bliss. The oozing quiet of his mind, the quality of the world, he wished he could sink back into it, but he was awake now, and there wasn't anything he could do about it- not really.


    "Soni, you can leave without me." Where was this comment coming from? He felt like a burden, that's where it was from. He was a problem, another weight on her shoulders, when he very well could take care of himself. Could he say he'd been through worse? Maybe, but he'd never been shot before. He'd come closer to death, but that was an experience he chose not to remember most of the time. Gave him nightmares. "You don't have to take of me- Honest. I can't say I'll catch up, but..." How did he word this. They didn't need to stick together- none of them did in the first place really, and logically, it would make sense for everyone to split off on their own. Kip and Mira sticking together made sense, Mira was small, Kip had taken care of her since she was smaller. Soni on the other hand, he got the feeling had met up with them last moment. He himself, last minute, just kind of stuck on because he was lonely and got wrapped up in all these events. His first action when seeing flying bird-kids like him was not to make friends, was not to team up and work together- it was to see what they had that he could take and use for himself. Because sometimes, that's what he was in the end, a thief.


    "We don't need to stick together. Never did. Just you and Mira, you'll be a lot safer than toting me around." He sounded more awake now, more aware of what he was saying. But at the same time, he regretted it- the feeling reared up inside of him like a snake, regret, he wished he could take back his words. What if he did need them? What if they needed him- what if they did leave? Did he really want them to leave?
    No.
    No of course he didn't, but he couldn't be a burden any more than he could take back his words.
    Maybe she fell asleep. That'd be a blessing.

    From the way the features of Trouble's face fell slack, Soni could tell that realization had clicked somewhere in his mind. It wasn't hard to imagine what about, but at the same time, there were a number of things that could have taken time to process. Whatever it happened to be, to obviously wasn't joyful. Because nothing lately had been joyful.
    Her thoughts were coming to jarring halts, staggering a bit, waiting a moment longer to see if they were needed before running away into the corners of her mind where she couldn't reach. It wasn't like she minded though, she needed to clear any excess clutter from her head. In fact, Soni didn't want any of it, maybe she needed to run on instincts instead of feelings and thoughts for awhile. At least until she had developed a mask to hide those emotions and thoughts with, so she didn't break down.


    After Soni thought she couldn't be surprised any more in one day, Trouble recommended splitting up. That had been the one thing they had sworn not to do, the one thing that Kip had promised they would not do right before he left. She didn't know why she even let him finish speaking, there was no way Soni was leaving Trouble. Though somewhere in her mind she knew this was somewhat logical, why they had stuck together all this time would remain a mystery to her. Maybe if she pretended she was asleep, then maybe they could avoid the conversation, and Trouble would stay with them. Leaving wouldn't have even been a notion. But she couldn't leave the subject untouched, not when she didn't want to deal with everything else. Then she would have to deal with a number of things all at once. That would surely lead to a overwhelming situation.
    "Trouble, where in the name of hell is this coming from? Do you really think I'm going to let you stay here by yourself? No. How many drugs did they put into your system? At least you admitted you wouldn't come back if we split up, no one ever comes back after we split up." There was almost a harsh bitterness in her tone, not towards Trouble, but in general. It was as if Soni were blaming the ceiling she was glaring at for all her problems. The avian paused, waiting a moment and letting out a sigh. "Look, Trouble, I won't make you come with Mira and I when we leave, but the last thing I want right is for yet another person to leave our…group. Whether you think so or not, ever since you tried picking Kip's pocket you've been looped in. Besides, Mira needs to stay in one place for a day or two, and…and I need a little bit of a break too. It'll give you enough time to recover." The girl took in a deep breath, she had said a lot, and she didn't honestly have time to process it all.