All Mistakes

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    "Alrighty, sounds like a plan," he said cheerily, embodying nearly the complete opposite of the Mira's mood. David was trying to brighten them up, but it seemed he was merely rubbing their sadness in their faces. With that their host meandered into the kitchen after Trouble. He opened a high cabinet and rustled through several messy books before he decided which one he wanted. After choosing, David dropped the book on the counter and flipped confidently to a page titled "waffles". "You've never made waffles before?" He asked baffled. The boy walked purposefully through the kitchen, opening cabinets, drawers, the fridge, and collecting items from all of them. Laying them all out on the counter, he looked them all over and compared them to the list on the recipe.


    Kip would have handled it. Kip used to be the people person. He always had a smile, and being polite was never to much of a stretch for him. It hurt to think someone else would have to do what he was best at. Soni didn't turn her head to watch them leave, but instead she let her eyes follow them out of the room. She was thankful that Trouble took him away. The girl was very appreciative of David, that was certain. She was simply worried about him interacting with the grieving Mira. Soni let her head droop and she stared at the floor for a long moment, as if it was breath taking. In the moment being the avian let a pause settle between the girls. For what felt like a lifetime they sat together. Everything they were feeling suspended in the stiff tension. The girl felt as if a canyon was developing between them the longer they sat. When the silence soaked up all the air Soni couldn't help but break it. "Mira," she started,"We have a plan, though we are going to stay here for a day or so." She thought Kip's sister should be informed, whether she wanted to talk to her about it or not. Really though, Soni just needed an excuse to talk to her.

    Stay there for a few days. She mulled over Soni's words slowly, before sighing audibly. She hesitated to let herself feel any sort of relief, as if something was going to rip them out of the ground again. They were supposed to be stronger than things the world could throw at them- they were designed. Put together in a lab to be superior to something, though she wondered briefly if they didn't actually have a purpose. That would be a cruel joke, they had just been slapped together because the scientists could.
    Mira preferred to think, at that point, that they had some kind of purpose. These were things that they would survive through, they were able to out-run the Erasers because that was what they were made to do. They were built to survive, but only on their terms, only when they were jumping through their hoops and running around like good little lab rats, it was a wonder they hadn't designed in some form of self-destruction for when they went rogue like this.
    After a moment, Mira realized that she hadn't acknowledged that Soni had spoken. She'd processed and filed the information, but speaking was out of the question. It simply was not something that was going to happen- her voice felt like it would hardly even work at that point. So, she nodded, hoping the movement would be seen.


    "Ah... No." He peered at the cookbook, and felt nervous when he noted the fractions. He didn't really know about fractions. In fact, his entire reading level was embarrassingly low, and his grasp on numbers was mostly there so that he could count time more accurately. It wasn't something he was about to mention to David, but he quietly hoped it wouldn't come up.
    "I haven't exactly- well, I mean... I haven't spent a lot of time in houses. Or kitchens. Or with ingrediants for things, y'know?" He seemed a little in awe, almost, of the different items David was pulling out, unsure if it was rude to open up a cabinet and look for himself. Sure, Trouble had been into a grocery store or three, but to see these items sitting in someones house, just kind of... there, it was a little odd. After a few moments longer of his gawking, he finally turned and looked at David.
    "Look- uh, this is kind of weird, but I don't know if we properly met. I'm Trouble, though I guess you've probably got my name already, and you're...?"

    When she didn't respond Soni decided not to tell the girl. At least not for the moment. Mira didn't seem to want to talk-or for that matter listen-so there was little point in explaining to her now that she would be going in alone. Perhaps she would tell her the next morning-after they had all slept-so she could process it more clearly. Or perhaps that was not a good idea. If Soni just told her now-while Mira wasn't really listening-then maybe it wouldn't be such a big wall to get over, for Mira would hardly realize there was a wall. After considering this option, Soni decided it wasn't fair. Mira might have been in shock, but she wasn't disabled, and she deserved to hear what was going on when she could comment about the plan. After all, it would affect them all in one way or another. Then again, the plan had already been decided, and Soni wasn't going to let anyone else kick the bee's hive but herself.


    "Oh!" He exclaimed, feeling guilty for not making himself known. Then again, when was there really a time to properly introduce himself. "Nice to meet to Trouble, I'm David." He turned his head and smiled over his shoulder at the avian, he mused,"That's an interesting name. How did you get it?" The man glanced at the first step on the slightly battered piece of paper, but not for more than a moment. It was obviously he had flipped to the page many times, so it was a rather safe bet to assume David knew what he was doing. His hand moved to his left where he grabbed one of the eggs he had set onto the counter. He cracked the egg onto the edge of the bowl with a firm strike and with his one hand he dumped everything but the shell into the bowl. When he reached over for the second egg, rather than cracking it, he placed it into Trouble's hand. While he waited for Trouble to follow his lead he began measuring out flour. Though it didn't show, David's mind was spinning. He had bird people in his house. He had people with wings in his living room. How many people on the plant got to say that? As far as David was concerned, none. He felt as if cameras were about to break through his back door and someone would explain to him that he was being pranked. But after everything that happened in the previous night, David knew that unfortunately, that was not the case. Things like this were supposed to happen in movies. The good guys were supposed to win. Trouble and his friends were supposed to win. Everything is always supposed to work out. Standing next to what was supposed to be a scene in a film, David realized that wasn't always the case. Bad things happen to good people. In fact, he had a gut feeling that a lot of bad things had happened to these people. That a lot more bad things would happen to these people. That there was next to nothing he could do about it besides make them waffles.

    "Um," It was a bit of a lame response as he stared at the egg, trying to recall exactly how he had gotten his name. He had named himself, hadn't he? Or was it something Rose had called him? Something panged slightly in his chest as he thought about her, and he settled for a shrug "I don't really remember. Might have named myself after I got out though, numbers aren't great names." He hesitated a moment before cracking the egg, tapping it a few times to figure out just how much pressure it was actually going to take- he had this horrible image of the entire thing just bursting apart in his hands because he misjudged. Better to take things slowly. In the process of cracking the egg, he managed to stick his thumb into the whites, and wrinkled his nose slightly as he wiped his hands on his pant leg, gingerly placing the eggshell back into the carton, uncertain of what else to do with it.
    "So- hang on. Eggs come from chickens, yeah?" He studied the two yolks in the bowl "So- I mean, we don't exactly have chicken wings, seeing as they aren't exactly great flyers, but," he seemed to be struggling with some thought, but decided to discontinue it with a shake of his head, "I dunno, actually. Biology is weird."


    It was a little confusing to be in Mira's head at the moment. She wanted to be closer to Soni, curl up next to her, let Soni help her believe that things were actually going to be ok and make the world stop spinning with just a touch, but then she didn't. She didn't want to move, like all her skin had been peeled away and every brush of fabric was aggravating, every little noise was too loud, but she couldn't really understand any of it. Maybe it wasn't real. Maybe she was still dreaming, she was going to wake up- except that was irrational, as she knew it. She had to be rational. She was talking to herself in her mind, trying to work her way through the problem, but it was all repetition, her mind trying to push around facts she wasn't going to accept because Kip couldn't be dead.
    But she had to accept it.
    She'd seen his body, felt his pulse go away, she knew he was dead but she still didn't want to accept it. Irrationality at it's finest.

    David mused at the idea of naming himself. Though, since he already had a name, it was difficult to imagine being called anything else. As Trouble began to work through his thoughts out loud, David got lost trying to follow. Trouble seemed to be just as lost in his own mind. "Well, yes, eggs come from chickens. And yes, biology is weird. It was never my favorite subject." The boy gingerly poured the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Upon looking at the amount of batter they were going to end up with, he couldn't help but think he had made too much. Then again, he was serving hungry people with wings. Perhaps they needed that much food. David grabbed a utensil and slapped it into Trouble's hand,"Would you stir that?" David had been trying not to look, but suddenly he found himself fixated on the giant wings attached to the boy next to him. He couldn't help but stare for a few moments. The idea that people were out there, putting wings on other people? David never would have believed that. Though now, now his idea of the world and the people in it spun upside down. If his thoughts could be dizzy, they would've been.


    Soni was going to melt into a puddle of her thoughts if she didn't get up and do something. Every inch of her body screamed for her to lay back, give into sleep, give into thoughts, give into dreams, give into nightmares. Soni knew better by now. She knew that if she closed her eyes for a moment she would give into thoughts of Kip. Whether they were dreams or nightmares that he starred in, Soni didn't care. She didn't want to have to see his face. For every time she saw his face, she saw his lifeless expression. Abruptly, the girl stood up. The movement helped to dislodge her from her thoughts. It helped his disconnect from her mind. "Mira, would you like to go for a walk? Take a shower? I can wash your clothes if you'd like." Soni wasn't sure if she really expected a response from Mira. More than likely Mira just wanted to be left alone with her thoughts on the couch. The avian was just hoping she could pull Mira out of the dull and dreary pattern of over thinking.

    Trouble had never really paid much attention to how having wings would affect his own personal biology. He knew he ran faster than humans, but not always faster than erasers. He figured there were strength factors that went into the mix as well, though once again, while stronger than the average human, not usually stronger than erasers. Erasers. It was like they were designed for each other, the ability to evade via flight, the ability to track from the ground. Once he was grounded, things usually went awry. He shook his head, as if trying to push away these thoughts- they probably had been designed to counter each other, for that matter, someone deciding that evolution wasn't moving fast enough.
    The sudden task of stirring the bowl pushed him out of his thoughts just enough to consider the fact that his life was probably insane. He was making waffles. Hours ago he'd been in a hospital- there was still a bullet hole in his body and he was making waffles. Though he almost seemed to be laughing, a smile crossing his face, his wings shifted and the feathers ruffled slightly, as if he could feel the stare boring into them.
    "So- uh, how do you go about eating these then?" Trouble asked, glancing around. It stood to reason that they'd be cooking the gooey mess one way or another, but it seemed worth asking.


    A haze. Everything was coming at her through a fog of noise, every part of her mind spinning around and around, snatches of conversation being remembered, memory of feelings or certain events, the small scratch on her cheek burning from tears that had dried on her face the night before. Everything was happening at once and yet she wasn't moving. She was laying there, trying to let the couch and blankets absorb her body. Slowly, as if with an engine running on fumes, logic did win out. She couldn't let herself be dead weight on the other two, it didn't make sense. She'd have to move some time, and that time might as well be then. Very, very slowly, she pushed herself to pick out Sonis words among the chaos, and then consider the options slowly.
    A walk was out of the question. She felt liable to take off running if she got presented with that much open sky. That left the option of a shower. Like a switch, she remembered a bustling home, hidden in the city, with weird kids and cinnamon rolls and Kips hair glowing like a neon sign because it was actually clean for once. Just as quickly as the memory came, it was replaced with the gray ruin they'd found it in later, blood stained floors and stuffing from pillows.
    Mira shuddered, trying to push that away. Moving slowly, she sat up, eyes squinted slightly, partially due to the fact that she'd been under the blanket, and partially due to the swelling that crying most of the night had left.
    "Shower." She mumbled, feeling everything grating against her skin as she moved, giving her that peeled back feeling, raw, tired. A shower. She could do that. She just had to stand up and walk across the room, it was probably only down the hallway. She sat for a second, still mostly cocooned in the blanket, and then he chin began to quiver, and she let out a small noise, suddenly leaning into Soni and hiding her face again. There weren't any tears left for her, but she still trembled like a bit of grass caught in a current. She didn't want this to be real. She wanted it to go away.

    David was so wrapped up in his thoughts that by the time Trouble inquired about the breakfast, David had wandered into parts of his brain he had never ventured. Questions that he could never answer himself. Questions he would never dare to ask. The man shook his head and sent the negligible thoughts away. A smile found its way to his lips again, his features out of place without it,"We will cook them. In this nifty contraption here." With that, David pulled out a waffle maker from under a cabinet and set it down heavily on the granite counter tops. "All we have to do is pour that," he pointed to what Trouble was mixing,"..in here. Then we close this lid and it will beep at us when they are ready." He demonstrated opening and closing the lid, and even threw in a hand gesture as he imitated the sound the machine would make.



    Mira managed to meekly answer, and it restored a little faith in Soni. Faith that could the little girl could preserver through the grim thoughts for her own good. The small avian was a mess, and a shower would've done her well. It was hard to believe that not more than two days ago they had all bathed. They all appeared to have been dragged through hell since then. Granted, they pretty much had been.
    As the little girl collapsed into her, she choked back an echoing sob. She had been trying to stifle her emotions, and she thought she could accomplish it like cutting off the oxygen to a flame. Now, Soni realized it was going to be more like waiting for a forest fire to burn out. Somehow, the girl stood tall, as she had always watched Kip be for Mira. Wrapping her arms around Mira, the avian allowed her to go through the motions of crying. After hours of harboring grief, Soni welcomed the flood from Mira. She was beginning to believe that the young one would never share her pain. With a gentle hand on the back of her head, Soni began to stroke her hair soothingly.
    Mira's hair. The tangled mess of red. It reminded Soni of Kip. To avoid the barrage of thoughts about the calamity, the girl had to look away. In fact, everything about Mira reminded her of Kip. She hated it. She loved Mira. But she hated that every time she looked at her all she could see is Kip. Perhaps that wasn't so bad though. Maybe a reminder of Kip would remind Soni of her duties: her responsibility to Mira, her plan of vengeance against the school, her will to stay alive. Soni had to decide if she was going to embrace thoughts of the red-headed boy, or if she was better off trying to eliminate them all. Both options seemed like an impossible task.

    “Nifty contraption.” Trouble echoed, more for the sake of making noise and conversation. He felt the odd need for that at the present time, as if speaking would keep off demons that would rather creep in while they grieved.
    “Pretty handy, I guess.” He poked at the batter in silence again for a moment, and then glanced around the kitchen- “So- uh, you live here?” It wasn’t much of a question. It was pretty obvious that David lived there, where else would he have taken them?
    “What do you do?” It was a broad question. Trouble wasn’t sure what else to really ask, the mans life seemed so...alien. He lived in one place, and didn’t have to worry about people chasing him around day and night, where he was going to sleep, none of that. It struck him with a slight chill that they might have changed that- David could become a target after his interaction with them.



    She was struggling to calm down, not wanting to spiral down into sobs again, but her shoulders shook still, and she the gentle reassurance of Soni only made her melt. Her cries weren’t as crushing as before though, there wasn’t energy for that. Tears leaked out of her eyes, and she hiccuped between breaths, letting the older girl hold her, trying to block out the world.
    Block out the world.
    What had Kip done to deserve that? What had any of them done other than be born? It didn’t make sense. She didn’t like to think about it, so why was she thinking about it now? Life was easier when she sorted it out into a list of priorities. Survival came first, but now questions cropped up against that one as to why?
    “I hate them.” She said suddenly, voice shaking slightly. She felt anger bubbling up in her stomach, anger at the School, at what they had done to cause this in her life. It was their fault, they’d even taken Kip now- “They take everything.” Her voice was quiet, watery even, but the anger lent it a sense of darkness that wasn’t found in the average 7 year-olds voice. One hand curled into a fist around the blanket, and she pushed herself up, scrubbing at her eyes.
    “We have to stop the School- I’ll stop them, myself!” She burst, struggling to disentangle herself from the blankets and off the couch. The resent she suddenly felt was almost refreshing in it’s heat, replacing the cold numbness that had been filling her. Mira looked ready to charge out of the house immediately, already to her feet, even as she swayed slightly. It was the look on Soni’s face that stopped her, the tiredness that showed in circles under her eyes. The firm, readiness that masked emotions on her face, trying to hold herself together even as...
    Miras shoulders drooped slightly. She didn’t even have to hear an answer to her proposal. Not now. They couldn’t go now.

    "It is very convenient," David nodded and took out a perfectly golden waffle. He took the bowl of batter and added more to the nifty contraption. "Ah, what do I do?" The man gave a strange chuckle. "It depends on who you ask. If you were to ask my parents, I waste my life away behind a camera screen. In reality though, I'm in college studying in hopes of being a director for movies and all that good stuff. I like the idea that some of my work could help people smile," David confessed. "I also play a lot of childish video games, and I am a master at tic-tac-toe." The man grinned, amused by his own comment. Suddenly, he doubted that Trouble could really relate to anything he said, and he felt rather guilty.


    "I know. I know, I hate them too." Her green eyes raised to follow Mira as she stood. Her hands gingerly griped Mira's shoulders. Her lips raised into a pathetic attempt to smile. The girl somehow got the silly notion that it would be reassuring. To be blunt, Soni didn't even believe her own smile. "Don't worry, I've got a plan underway to get back at them," she said firmly, returning the force that Mira spoke with but with less energy.
    Soni realized suddenly that she wasn't certain she could tell Mira her plan of action. The fire for revenge that burned in the little girl made it clear Mira ached to get back at the monsters who stole her brother. However, her plan didn't call for Mira. Mira would most likely object to her lack of participation. In fact, perhaps she would merely leave in the night, while the others slept. It would certainly resolve any protest about the scheme. With those precious hours of night, Soni decided she could gain plenty of time on Trouble and Mira in case they came after her. It seemed harmless enough, after all, Soni would have to part ways with them at one point or another. Though she had promised Trouble she would wait a day before they ventured off. Soni debated this silently for a moment. Would she be breaking her promise to the boy if she left that night? Technically, a day will have passed if she left under the cover of darkness. She turned this idea over and over in her mind. She pondered every repercussion her actions might have.
    How would it effect Mira? Trouble? On the bet that Mira would come after me, would I be leading her into more danger? What about Kip? He would certainly be furious with me… Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt. For a moment, she couldn't differentiate between pretending Kip was alive and consulting the idea of him about her plot.
    But if he were here, he would do the same thing if he thought it meant protecting Mira. He would try to be the hero…and I would get frustrated with him for risking his life recklessly. Then he would refute me with some sort of loosely coherent reasoning. Then I would simply gaze up at him and give in. Because I trust him. I know he believes his decisions are made for the better, even if they put himself at risk… Soni snapped out of it. She had crossed the line between contemplating and reminiscing.

    “That’s pretty cool, actually.” Doing something that would make people smile- a career wasn’t something Trouble had ever considered. He picked pockets for a living, he ran, and his options for work were fairly slim. Nonetheless, the prospect was fascinating to him, opening up a handful of new ideas. What were his dreams? He’d never thought much beyond the next sunrise, even when he’d been on his own. He just wanted to live, peacefully.
    “I’m pretty good at tic-tac-toe, actually- I win against myself every time.” He remarked absently, a crooked grin crossing his face as he looked again at the waffle maker.


    Mira could almost see the gears turning in Soni’s head as she considered her options, the seconds falling between them in silence. Soni had a plan, and that alone was enough to reassure Mira, even if it was just for a moment. One, gentle moment that let her catch a breath before her stomach began to bubble with anger again, suppressed rage at the school still there- whatever it was Soni had planned, it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough for what they’d done, she wanted to see them... burn? Was burning what she wanted? Would that be enough to sate her rage?
    She didn’t know. In brief, detached moment, Mira was afraid of how far she might go. The feeling quickly passed though as the memory of her brother, sprawled like a puppet with its strings cut on the hospital roof, the petrified horror she felt as that person- that thing- pressed its claw against her cheek in passing. As if simply to show how easy it would have been to take her life. Mira shuddered, shoulders hunching even more.
    Her shoulder felt wooden against Sonis gentle touch, and something seemed to click in her mind as she pulled away slightly, initially just moving to seek out a hot shower. Soni hadn’t told them the plan- or just her? Had she only not told her? Was that what she was talking to Trouble about on the porch earlier? They had been out there together, what were they talking about- they were going to leave her behind. The expression of horror only barely flashed across her face, as reason argued with her that no, of course, they wouldn’t do that to her. But what if they were.
    As Soni pulled herself from her reminiscing, Mira stepped away again, not meeting her gaze-
    “I’m going to go shower.” She mumbled, trying to dispel the anger that turned on Soni as quickly as it had on the school. There was no confirmation, there was no reason to be mad at Soni, no reason at all, she just had to calm down, breath. She shuffled away, wings drooping listlessly against her back. The girl hesitated at the entrance to the kitchen, looking at David cautiously- it would be easier to just ask him about the shower, but she suspected she could find it just as easily on her own, but the hesitation was enough to freeze her there, staring at the two of them.

    David grinned rather proudly. Most people he encountered often found his dream to abstract to reach. Hearing someone sound genuinely impressed by the idea was a treat to his ears. Perhaps one day he could write a movie about them. About the strange bird people who stayed in his house for a day and ate waffles. Of course, he would never admit it was inspired by true events. "Tic-tac-toe?" That game sent David right back to his childhood. He recalled sitting in school and passing notes back and forth, drawing tic-tac-toe boards to avoid being killed by the boredom of math. "I haven't played that game in ages! You'll have to play me. Though I'm not sure if I can win, you know, considering you win every game you play with yourself." David chuckled as he pulled the first waffle out of the contraption, flopping the warm breakfast treat down onto a plate.


    The silence and stillness of the moment froze Soni in front of Mira. She wanted to hold Mira and bring her closer, but as the moments passed it seemed like the fracture that appeared between them when Kip died was turning into a canyon. Soni took a shuddering breath, trying to exhale all of her worry. Unfortunately this was fruitless. Mira stood and Soni merely raised her eyes to follow Mira out of the room. Her lips didn't want to part to make room for words. The avian sat alone, surrounded by silence for what seemed like an eternity.
    The world crashed back onto her shoulders. Sadly, Soni found that the world had not stopped for her. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet, feeling the deep desire to catch up to time. Her hands found their way to her temples, her fingers pressed firmly to her head as if to lure an idea out of its depths. I can't lead Mira into danger, it would go against everything I promised Kip. Trouble has been shot, it would be wishful thinking to believe he could fly -and fly well- injured as badly as he is. I don't want to leave them…but most of all I don't want to lose them. Accompanying this single train of thought was Soni's plan of action. Thought she felt guilt banging against her heart with a hammer, Soni couldn't fight with her logic to appease Trouble and stay the night. It was decided; Soni would pack a bag and leave late that night. Since to her knowledge the two boys were in the kitchen and Mira was searching for a shower, Soni figured no one would notice if she meandered through the house. Rather, searched through the house. The avian felt that she was a day or two's worth of travel away from her desired destination of the school. She would need supplies. Just enough to last her two days, also perhaps something that would be useful in her plan of destruction. On the balls of her feet she turned and dashed into David's room, where she found her way into his closet. She rummaged for a bag, succeeding in finding a backpack.


    David shuffled with some more batter and waffles, repeating this pattern of movements until his collection of golden waffles began to build. His eyes flickered up to Trouble, and his mouth parted to speak, but before he could he spotted Mira in the edge of his view. "Mira," he greeted with a smile,"You're going to love breakfast. Trouble has made some pretty good waffles." It didn't take him long to realize that the young girl had walked into the kitchen with the intent of asking something. The slightly inquiring look in her eye hinted this to David. "Did you need something?"

    "I don't know what a waffle is." She said shortly, her voice very small, her wings tucked in close against her back. She realized that this was the first time she'd spent any time at all actually looking at David, and she found herself staring. Not because he was particularly interesting, but more just because the pool of people she'd had close, friendly encounters with was really a very low number. It was strange to think that she had spent the majority of her life, locked up and kept in the dark or hiding, on the run- it was just her life. There was nothing else to it, she'd seen glimpses of things that could have been, ways that other people lived their lives. And Mira? Mira was angry, she was too young to have felt the kind of anger she had boiling in her stomach, and yet there it was. She had one thing in the world, one steady factor, and that was taken from her now. Trouble and Soni were friends, but they weren't Kip. No one was Kip but Kip.
    With all this running through her head, Mira just stared for a few moments longer, her yellow eyes dull. She'd begun to chew on her thumbnail at some point without noticing, and ended up mumbling around it-
    "Where’s your shower?” She asked, part of her regretting it slightly, she probably could have found it on her own. There was no need to talk to anyone, it felt exhausting, she just wanted...she wanted to sleep, but she’d just been asleep. She even slept fairly soundly for the most part, which was unusual. A welcome change, for sure, but unusual.
    Trouble wasn’t sure what to say. What did you say to someone who’d just lost a relative? A situation as particular as Miras, for that matter, would be like walking on eggshells. Sorry didn’t cut it, he knew that much. Sorry would never cut it. He remembered what it’d felt like when he’d lost Rose, and she hadn’t even died, she hadn’t even been a relative. Just an ally.
    Of course, now he was an ally. Someone she knew, someone she probably trusted, at least a little, and one of the few people who at least half-way understood the life the three of them were living. Three now, not four.
    “You’ll like them,” He promised, despite not being positive on what they would taste like- “They’re like... a pancake. With squares pressed in.” He explained, feeling slightly lame about the whole thing. Equating a waffle to a pancake wouldn’t make sense, he was going off the assumption that she knew what a pancake was, but if she didn’t know about waffles, what were the chances of her knowing about pancakes?

    Her hands frantically moved through drawers, cabinets, boxes. Anything her eyes landed on, she rummaged through. She found a box of matches. A few half-filled water bottles were sitting on the nightstand is David's messy room. Soni rapidly dumped out the contents and refilled them in the bathroom sink before stuffing them in the backpack.
    Her mind kept combatting with her thoughts. Her mind bantered with itself, attempting to rationalize her rash decision. She tried to convince herself that leaving without them to storm the School was best for everyone. She wanted the think she was being a martyr out of bravery. However, it was fear that lead the avian now. Fear of losing Trouble. Fear of losing Mira. Fear of letting down Kip. Fear of not saving the good souls who helped them. Fear of never being able to soothe the sadness and anger and confusion that bubbled and stirred in her chest. Fear of having to face the School ever again.
    Soni paused and took a moment to stare into the mirror above the sink. Her reflection froze her. She could see her physical form, and a small sliver of her mind couldn't help but hate it. It wasn't fair that she could be on her feet, breathing, while Kip was condemned to the death that the green bullet had given him.


    "Never had a waffle?" David huffed,"Psh…We must change that." Everyone David knew had experienced a waffle before. The idea that this little girl had never tasted a classic breakfast dish baffled the man. If David couldn't help the tattered bunch in any other way, he would make sure Mira at least got a good breakfast. The more he pondered it, the more the situation seemed to sadden the man. He couldn't help but wonder what this little girl had been dragged through. Probably more pain than David would ever have to face in his life.
    While the little girl observed David, the film student found himself staring back with an equal amount of puzzlement. He would never know these people, these winged people. He would never truly know them. No matter how hard he stared, how many questions he asked, David knew that they would never connect to anyone besides someone who had been through what they had. David accepted this.
    "Ah, shower. Go right down this hallway here," David pointed out of the kitchen to the left,"It's the second door on the right, next to the bedroom," he directed.

    To be honest, Mira could have cared less about what breakfast was. The fact that it was food was enough for her, but adding on the facts that it was warm, homemade, and apparently very good would have usually sent her over the moon with joy, with part of her hold back in reserve for the resulting horror that usually came along with being so happy. At this time though, Mira didn't care if it came out of the heavens on a silver platter or if it was rooted out of the ground three weeks ago and left in a stagnant lake. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to eat, showering was a big step for her right now. Maybe she'd go back to sleep afterwards.
    Nonetheless, a compartmentalized section of her mind reminded her to be polite and thank the nice man for giving her directions- she managed a tight lipped grimace, in imitation of a smile and a nod. Slowly, she turned, and began plodding down the hallway, her feet dragging until she leaned around the doorway and peered at Soni. Inside of her, the irrational anger flared up, ready to be accusatory- why was she packing a bag? What was she doing? Was she planning on leaving? Except that Mira knew the importance of being prepared. To have a bag ready to go was to be prepared, this made sense, but there was a look on Sonis face that spoke volumes to Mira. Regret. Fear. She was just frowning slightly at the older girl though, as if confused, the rational and irrational battling to choose her reaction, finally settling on reaching out a hand to brush against Sonis elbow, trying to push through some feeling of comfort, as angry as she still felt, the rational side of her won out. The touch felt like every other contact so far- necessary, almost comforting, but painful as a hot coal, she just wanted to curl up and disappear but she was forced to continue existing. What little rationality was left reminded her that perhaps Soni and Trouble needed her as much as she needed them, maybe she needed to be strong for them too. Her bottom lip trembled again as she left her hand briefly on Sonis elbow, but her eyes only burned, no more tears.


    The feathers on Troubles wings puffed out as Mira turned and left, and he seemed to be frozen, watching her go. She didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve any of it- she was so young. They were all so young, though he felt ancient compared to her, and their lives had come to this some how. He hadn't asked for wings. None of them had.
    "It's- it's my fault." He said, voice loosing any of the levity he might have had before- "If I hadn't gotten hurt, th-they wouldn't have gone to the hospital, and-" he seemed to choke on his words there, and turned away slightly, wiping roughly at his eyes. If he hadn't gotten hurt, Kip wouldn't have been there, but at the same time, he knew that it was only a matter of time before the school caught up to them- got one. One down, three to go. He took a shaky breath, trying to get himself under control, but the flood of emotions had taken him off guard.
    "I mean," he tried to start again, gesturing with one hand, "I don't know. I'm just... Worried. They were close, y'know, and she's..." He took another shaky breath, shaking his head. Mira's eyes had looked so dull, and he knew enough about Soni to know that she couldn't be feeling much better. None of this was good. They said they wouldn't split up anymore, Soni and Kip, nothing good ever came of splitting up. What did this mean? Did death count in that agreement?

    Somehow, lost in her mind, Soni didn't seem to notice the little girl peering around the corner. Hell, the girl probably wouldn't have noticed a bull charging past her. As anxious as Soni was, she was jittery in her own world. The window to reality was opaque. Soni's chin drooped, her eyes watery with emotion. She cast her gaze down to the cold tile beneath her feet, hoping it would serve as a distraction. A small part of her wished it would give out and swallow her. Though, Soni didn't really want that. She hadn't put an abundance of energy into surviving to merely be swallowed by the floor. Soni wanted to live. For Mira, for Trouble, for Kip, even for herself. Soni could give into the school, quit running, quit fighting, it would simply stop the exhaustion of it all. However, Soni wouldn't be surviving if she did that. The moment she gave in would've been the equivalent of death.
    A seemingly foreign touch scattered Soni's somber thoughts. Her head raised to find the eyes of the stranger who had pulled her out of her focus.
    Mira.
    Mira wasn't a stranger, but somehow in the moment the contact felt like their first interaction. After a lingering stretch of time between the two, Soni recognized the glint in Mira's stormy eyes. Confusion. Abruptly, Soni looked down at the bag she was clutching in her hand. She hadn't realized that she had been cleaving to it so firmly. Her knuckles were white. Soni didn't want Mira to know she was leaving early. She didn't want to burden the young girl with worry about her solo mission. So Soni lied. Well, Soni didn't lie, she merely didn't explain her actions. She responded to the loud bewilderment in Mira's gaze with a vague comment. "Have to be prepared, y'know?" Her voice was jittery. Soni moved a hand to gesture to Mira, her fingers twitching as if it was representative of all the words that needed to be spoken. After realizing that trying to speak with her hand was insufficient, Soni's lips parted to let out a sigh as she realized she would have to gather the nerve to speak.
    "I'm sorry, Mira," the girl peered into the wide eyes that stared up at her,"I'm sorry it wasn't me."


    "Hey, man," David raised his hand to pat Trouble's back, just as he would have consoled any ordinary friend. However, Trouble wasn't really a friend, and he definitely was not ordinary. David wasn't quite sure how to give a boy with wings a reassuring pat on the back. The man lowered his hand.
    "Look…" he struggled with his next words,"…I don't know much about you guys -or really anything about you guys- but by the way it sounds," he sighed,"One day one of you was bound to get hurt, regardless of the situation. Whether or not you got hurt, they must've been in the area anyways…you're not the one who killed him, so it can't be your fault." David was never good at pep talks, let alone reassuring talks about death. He hoped he never had to talk about it again. He hoped Trouble never had to hear it again. Unfortunately, David knew better than to firmly believe in these hopes. David was well aware that the three, winged-fugitives would never get a life without death and loss. Even normal people suffered these things.
    The man lowered his head for a moment. A moment of absolute silence lingered between the two. However, even as their lips remained shut, the silence seemed deafening.



    (Omg. Did death count on that agreement?

    Maybe she tried to speak, but all that came out was a single, choked noise in the back of her throat. It should have been me. Those words echoed in her mind, and she considered it for one, horrifying moment. Should it have been Soni? If she could go back and change the moment, replace Kips body with Soni's, laying on the roof of the hospital, would she? She would have Kip. Except-
    Except that she knew Kip. He was her brother, they knew each other better than anyone else in the world, as small as hers was, and she knew what he would have wanted. He would want her to be safe, he would want to keep them all alive, and she knew that with Soni, she was safe.
    "No-" she said finally, arms falling to her sides as she leaned forward slightly, as if wanting to move forward but being cemented to the ground. "No, I'm glad you're still here." Her voice was a whisper, her eyes cast down at the ground, but the words were her truth. She was glad Soni was still with her, glad that she and Trouble were still alive. As angry as she wanted to be, she couldn't let herself think that she would rather have Soni dead than Kip.
    "If- If it weren't for you, we'd still be in cages." She said, sniffling slightly and passing her sleeve over her nose.


    Trouble nodded, unconsciously leaning away from Davids raised hand, and grateful that the man thought better of the motion. The words felt somewhat hollow, but he knew the truth behind them- he was just too bitter to believe them for the moment. It didn't seem fair, for all of them to have survived so much, Kip spending 15 years living in a box in the dark. Trouble realized how lucky he'd been to escape when he was so young, to survive in the world, free, not hunted. He'd lived in relative peace for years on his own, but he was almost certain that he'd rather try the chaos with people he trusted, than empty life on his own. Every breath they took outside the school was one they should be thankful for.
    The silence built around them for a time, Trouble fidgeting with the spoon he still held, until he cleared his throat and cast a sidelong glance at David.
    "Thanks man. And- uh, thanks for taking us in like this. When we leave you should consider taking a trip or something, getting out of the area for a while. Bad things kind of follow us around."

    [["bad things": read as, Trouble avoiding using his name as a pun as much as he probably wants to. Also BREAKING MY HEART WITH SONI OVER THERE MAN]]

    Hearing the words fall from Mira's small, nearly quivering lips made Soni's chest expand with a hopeful air. She knew that she could not be a Kip to Mira, not in any way could she fill that spot. Though, she filled a spot that Mira still needed, still wanted. Soni could not be Kip, but she would be Soni for Mira.
    An irrational sliver of Soni wanted to protest, list out reasons if would be better for Kip to take her place among the surviving. Though, she knew better than that. She knew better than to ache for something that couldn't happen. She knew better than to put her precious thoughts to waste on things she couldn't change. Just as she had given up on the idea of having a normal life -a safe life- she would give up on the idea that things would ever be how they should be: Kip alive. Soni was ambitious. She would take on a pack of erasers, the whole school, she even flirted with death, but she had never challenged death. Never had Soni dared to fight the idea that death could touch her. In the life Soni had been given, there was not enough wood on earth for her to knock on before she would make the bet that those she cared for would all live.
    A sudden burst of courage dashed through her head, to her heart, to her limbs. She moved forward and enveloped Mira in a loose embrace. A hand pulled Mira's head towards her torso. Her calloused fingers rested against the tousled, begging-to-be-cut, Kip replica, fire red hair on the small child's head. The contact felt strange, for it felt weird to move outside of herself. To make contact and to interact with something more than her dreary thoughts. "That's probably the best choice I've ever made," Soni confessed, referring to the moment in time where her fingers fumbled to unlock the cages Mira and Kip were stuffed in. She couldn't help but wonder if she was about to make one of the worst choices of her life time: sneaking off to take on the school without Mira and Trouble.


    David didn't move a muscle as the silence gathered between them. It was as if the lack of conversation encased him and prohibited movement, even the movement of a thought from one side of his mind to another. Hearing about Trouble's life, his worries, his fears, made David pull out his magnifying glass and look at his own life. He suddenly felt so thankful for the small luxuries he had: regular haircuts, clothes that fit, new shoes, television, warm meals, general safety. All of his own problems seemed a little less terrible.
    A puzzled expression hung on the man's face as Trouble warned him about dangers that followed them. Then he remembered that the people he was harboring had wings. His lips stretched into a smile as it clicked in his mind. Then it rapidly vanished. It didn't feel right to smile, not in front of a boy who probably didn't get to smile much. "Well, I'll make sure I get out of town," David agreed with a curt nod, very much wanting to live. He pursed his lips in thought before he continued,"Don't go getting into to much trouble…Trouble." David had awkwardly finished his previous sentence, realizing only as he uttered the word "trouble" that it was also the boy's name. He clapped suddenly, as if it was his only tool to break the heavy tension that was billowing in. "Mira just went to shower but the waffles are pretty much ready, so I'll just stick them in the oven to keep them warm," he decided, his voice loud and almost echoing. A thought passed slowly through the corridors of his mind. He couldn't help but remember how when he was little he dreamed he could fly. Now though, he found being able to fly sounded more like a nightmare.



    ((LOOK WHO DECIDED TO SHOW UP LATE AGAIN!?! That's right, I'm here finally.


    Also, glad you still find Soni heartbreaking.


    And I always struggle when using the word trouble (haha that rhymed) because I'm like "wait, no, I can't say Trouble was in trouble."))

    Mira made a small noise, not unlike a sob, though she'd done so much crying lately that every noise that came out of her was tearful. 'Tearful' was probably just the best way to describe her- face red, patchy from crying, shirt sleeves damp, her little nose as red as her hair. The embrace was comforting beyond belief though, for the moment, and her wings shifted, feathers ruffling expressively as she buried her face against Soni, letting her run her hands over her hair. Sure, some small part of her was still foaming at the mouth for revenge, there was still anger in the pit of her stomach, but for that moment, sadness and exhaustion won out. She didn't feel quite as numb, quite as torn apart. After a few moments, she pulled away enough to look up at Soni, a touch of curiosity in her voice-
    "What's next, then? When Trouble gets better," Because he would get better, there was no questions about that, "Where should we go?" It occured to her, more than it ever had before, that the world was huge. She'd seen a few maps here and there in their travels, but she didn't really know. There was so much out there, so much she hadn't considered- so much Kip wouldn't get to see with her. That thought seemed to ping in her heart like a popcorn kernel in an empty pot, popping against the side and burning a little. It was visible too, the slight falter in her voice, the flicker in her eyes, but then the quick recovery. She felt like... like there was a sinkhole, a pit of quicksand, and she was still standing in it, but only ankle deep now. She could still slip down in, very easily in fact, but not as long as she focused on the exact present and nothing else. It was a very precarious perch.



    "I'm good with trouble, I'm designed to handle it. Humans are a little more fragile." Trouble stated, voice mostly serious, but with a hint of humor there, trying to shake himself out of the gloom, enough to at least act normal. He'd been serious when telling David to get out of town, but the message seemed to have gotten through. He flinched a little when the young man clapped, and recovered himself quickly by spinning on his heel, looking around-
    "Dude, where do you keep your cups?" He asked, the casualness somewhat forced in his voice. He was grateful for what David had done, sticking his neck out for them like this, housing them for the night. They were strangers, after all, and as long as he let himself believe that this was, truly from the kindness of the mans heart, then he could feel grateful for it. He did, of course, harbor a level of suspicion, as was healthy for someone of his type, and wouldn't have been surprised if there was some sort of ulterior motive to all of this. He was just going to hope for the 'kindness of heart' theory.


    [[bro have you ever heard of this band called the National Parks because they're gr8, like, I've only listened to their album 'Young' and a few other songs but what I've heard is pretty sweet. Also, sort of short response is sort of short, sorry ^-^]]