Winged Warrior

Chapter 3: Unbroken

Thunder clashed in the distance, causing the sky to lighten momentarily. The mountainous ranges loomed over the hopeless village as screams echoed through the streets. Blood and various colors of feathers covered the ground, showcasing the desperate horrors that were taking place. Babies screamed for their mothers as they watched them being dragged away by large men.

Skye and her mother hid in a closet--they hadn't seen her father since before the sirens sounded.

The door abruptly swung open, and the two were dragged from their hiding place. Skye's mother kicked and screamed as the man dragged her by her wings. The man half pulled, half carried Skye by her arm. He tossed Skye into a cage with the other young children, as she screamed in terror for her mother. She watched their captors beat her family, friends, and neighbors. The smell of burning corpses swooshed with the wind. Skye's screaming voice cracked as she watched the men drag her mother away--a large man slapped her cheek, silencing her screeches.

Then nothing. It was over.

Skye sprang into a sitting position. Soaked in sweat, she shook violently as she stared into the dark.

Skye wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Rather, she just sat--staring. As her shaking subsided, her anxiety settled, leaving a numb, blank feeling to reside in her soul.

She had relived that night countless times since it happened.

What once left her breathless in constant despair, now left her feeling numb and empty.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but when she finally broke from her trance, the sun was beginning to peak through her window.

Sighing, she managed to pull herself from the little comfort of her bed. Feeling like the walking dead, she dragged her feet to the bathroom to shower and wash her bitter-numb despair away under the scorching heat of the water. She lazily prepared herself for the day. Thank the wolve's moon goddess, it's Friday. She thought to herself, she was already over it.

She skipped breakfast and headed to class. She didn't care to notice the stares and drama that surrounded her today. She just wanted to get through it.

Jesse noticed her friend's odd behavior but didn't question her, but rather silently supported Skye the best she could. She figured Skye would open up to her when she was ready.

The first two classes passed by painfully slowly.

However, when lunch rolled around, and with the helpful prompt of food, Skye was beginning to feel like herself again.

"Any plans for the weekend?" Skye asked Jesse, attempting to break the silence.

"Besides tomorrow's mandatory self-defense practice, nothing really."

"Mandatory?"

"Yeah, every other weekend, students are required to participate." Jesse continued, "But don't worry, I'll be able to take you tomorrow, plus with what I've seen--you'll be just fine," she smiled.

Skye returned her smile, "What's the dress code?"

"Did you receive some gym clothes from Ms. Acacia when you arrived?"

"No, I guess I could visit her later after class, though." She wasn't worried, Skye was confident she would be exempt from participating in anything that required a capeless dress code.

The girls chattered among themselves before Skye collected their trays, piled with dishes and napkins.

She walked to the trash bins and scraped their plates; however, just as she went to return their trays, she turned to see Becca standing above Jesse.

Becca's group of "friends" surrounded the two, laughter filling the room as harsh comments were made.

Skye watched as Becca brushed her hand over Jesse's antlers, then squealed at the "texture". Giggling innocently.

"Hey, don't bucks only have antlers?" One of Becca's minions mocked.

"Oh my goddess! You're so right!" Becca screeched, "Jesse! Is there something you aren't telling us?!"

The group filled with laughter.

Skye saw red, as anger boiled over into her rationality.

With her trays in tow, she marched over to the group of bullies.

Becca choked as Skye spun her around by the cuff of her neck to face her. An instant later, Skye's stacked trays met the side of Becca's face, causing a sickening slap to echo through the cafeteria. A home run.

Becca fell to the ground, surprise filled her eyes as she looked up at Skye. But, then she smiled.

Rage coursed through Skye's body.

Becca immediately shifted into her wolf form. Tearing through her clothes and shoes. She stood and snarled at Skye, snapping her sharp teeth at her. She wanted this.

This time Skye smiled. This time, Skye was ready. Even if she lost, Becca would not walk away unscathed this time.

As a crowd began to form, Skye watched as Becca's "loyal apostles" backed away from the scene.

She circled Skye, looking for an opportunity to strike. The wolf immediately jumped to the right of Skye, attempting the very ploy that defeated her last time. This time, however, Skye turned her body, using her arm to sweep her cape away. Spinning, she swept her leg at the wolf's front legs, causing it to stumble into her locked arms, catching her in a headlock. She then raised her arm and smashed her elbow into its face.

The wolf stumbled to the floor.

Skye felt soooo good.

She allowed the wolf to stand, and they circled. Each time the wolf lunged at Skye, she easily slid past its feeble attempts--it dared not attempt her earlier ploy.

Skye easily maneuvered its attacks, stepping to the left of the wolf's lunges each time. She hoped the wolf noticed this pattern as well. It did.

Now, with her back to the wall, Skye awaited the next attack. She predicted her opponent to target her left this time.

The wolf did just as she expected. It lunged at her left side, likely hoping Skye would step right into line with its sharp teeth. This time, Skye stepped right, though, and swept her foot under that of the wolf, causing it to slide head-first into the dense wall.

"Apologize," Skye demanded in a flat, emotionless tone.

The wolf froze for a moment, then chortled, as if laughing--refusing to accept defeat in front of its peers.

Now the wolf was cornered, and Skye readied herself for her own attack.

Fighting the wolf seemed to help Skye release some pent-up anger and despair.

She had planned to use the wall to her advantage, by scaling it to give her some height so that she could use her body's weight to crash down and pin her opponent. But a young man appeared between the two.

He faced Becca's wolf, his presence alone demanded she stand down.

Skye assumed he was a high-ranked wolf in their pack since her opponent dipped her head in submission. Skye had read of some of the ranks in a pack. Maybe he was a beta--one rank below the alpha, himself. Riftan.

It made sense.

Becca's wolf collected its broken pride, glared at Skye, and walked off.

The man turned to face Skye, however, Riftan's strong back was suddenly between the two.

"Should she not defend her friend?" Riftan questioned his presumable beta.

"Rift, she's making your pack look weak." He emphasized.

Skye wasn't sure what was going on, but the two guys just stood there for a few moments, staring at one another. Then the other man just walked away.

Riftan turned to face Skye. She could see why many girls swooned over him.

He stood well over 6ft, his hair faded into a mound of dark curls atop his head, and a scar ran along his left brow, revealing his deep blue ores. His perfectly tanned flesh displayed muscles that rippled beneath his shirt, tightening around his large chest and arms. He exuded strength and power.

Even Skye found her heart quicken when they made eye contact.

She waited for him to speak, but he just stared. His face displayed a hint of annoyance, which irritated Skye, so she spun on her heel and looked for Jesse. She wouldn't apologize, nor would she thank him. She didn't need to.

Jesse stood when Skye left him, shifting on her feet nervously.

When Skye approached, she embraced her tiny friend in a strong hug. "Thank you."

"Of course." Skye muffled into her shoulder, "You didn't deserve that, Jess."

Skye continued, "Becca chose a bad day to pull a stunt like that. Sorry, I reacted the way I did." She was nervous about her new friend's opinion of her now.

"I appreciate you so much," Jesse breathed.

Relief.

The next class flew by. Skye noticed the eyes of her peers again, the ones she assumed were werewolves, would give her nasty looks, but she noticed the occasional half-smile or grin from the morphic students.

The girls hung close together, trying not to acknowledge the obvious attention they received.

When fourth period arrived, the girls were eager to finish classes for the week. As the girls entered the last class for the day, Skye was surprised to see the guy she had run into in the garden the other day sitting near the back of the room.

Skye took her seat next to Jesse, and the guy from the garden switched to the open seat on her right.

"I waited for you today, but I understand you had some business to take care of," he acted hurt, sighing dramatically.

Skye laughed at his statement, "Sorry I stood you up," She joked, remembering his words.

"Seriously though, I think you shocked everybody today. Nobody expected that kind of skill and strength from a human, especially when the human is like 4'11 and 90 pounds." He exaggerated, causing the two girls to laugh.

"Skye is the literal meaning of "tiny but mighty"," Jesse joked.

Skye faked hurt and shock at their remarks, followed by a chuckle.

"Well, because I'm a nice guy, I'll let you make it up to me," he winked.

Skye chuckled, "slow down bud, let's start with names."

He stuck out his hand for Skye to shake, "I'm Emery--you're Skye."

"Emery" sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Skye shook Emery's hand, smiling at his mischief. When she looked at his face, she noticed that he was actually kinda cute.

Tattoos decorated his lightly tanned flesh, and light blonde strands streaked his tousled, sandy hair. His boyish face had friendly brown eyes that sparkled with mischief. He exuded a bad-boy vibe with his choice of dark clothing--which surprised Skye considering there was a dress code--and the way he carried himself with his nonchalant posture and carefree attitude.

As the teacher began his lecture, Skye glanced at Riftan, who seemed to just stare at the blank paper on his desk.

Emery slumped into his chair, sighing.

The lecture continued from the previous day about werewolves. This time, the professor focussed on mates.

The class focussed fondly on the professor as he described the bond between mates. He described mates as being soul-mates, two of the same soul, destined to be together. Mates can only find each other after they both reach the age of 18, then they can easily identify one another as soon as they see, smell, or touch the other. They have a strong, nearly undeniable, instant bond. It is nearly impossible for them to remain in control of themselves when close to their fated mate. They experience intense butterflies, tingles, and an irresistible attraction to one another. It was really quite fascinating.

Skye learned that mates usually occur strictly between wolves, but there are recorded instances where mates can occur between wolves and other creatures, like humans and morphic folk. She was shocked to learn that some wolves had experienced having multiple mates at a time.

Some were fortunate enough to find an instant connection with their mates within their pack as soon as they turned of age, others may have to travel to find theirs, and there were those who would go their whole lives never finding their other half.

Once one finds their mate, they usually move quickly to seal the deal. It was common for mates to marry as soon as three days after meeting. They would then bite one another on a certain spot on their necks to show others they have found their mate and complete the process by consummating.

Aside from mates, Skye also learned that pack members could communicate through "mind links"--which is probably what had happened between Riftan and that guy earlier.

No wonder the werewolves were considered so powerful. With that much power, Skye would probably have let it get to her head, too.

The class went by much too fast, as Skye found herself lost in the concepts of mates and all the werewolves' abilities.

Once dismissed, the girls struggled to get rid of Emery but finally managed to depart after convincing him that she would "make things up to him".

Skye ventured to Ms. Acacia's office, while Jesse headed to her dorm.

When she arrived, Ms. Acacia invited her into her floral workspace, she offered Skye tea as she took her seat.

"I've heard you've had an exciting day."

Skye tried to cover her nervousness with a cough as she scratched her knee, "I'm sorry for causing trouble."

"You don't need to apologize to me," Ms. Acacia assured, "If you haven't noticed, no teachers or those in positions of authority intervened in your scuffle. As young adults, we expect our students to solve their problems as adults. If you choose to resolve your issues with violence, we won't interfere--unless it is taken too far, of course."

"I'm sure I don't need to worry about that with you, though." Ms. Acacia winked.

"I understand," Skye tipped her head.

"Was that what you wanted to speak to me about?"

"No, I was concerned about the dress code for tomorrow's mandated self-defense class."

"That's right," Ms. Acacia pondered her thoughts for a moment, "I suppose people will question you no matter what. Your peers are now aware of your self-defense abilities, and they would question whether you wore your cape or didn't participate." She paused.

"I'll make a deal with you," Ms. Acacia proposed, "I will deem you exempt from tomorrow's and future self-defense classes; however, you will participate in the academy's bringing-together events."

She further explained, "Since the war that divided the beings of Anisidora ended 4 years ago, prejudice has grown between our students, causing strife between the various beings and creatures. Our hope with the bringing-together events is that our students can mingle and form friendships and alliances with one another. We have seen small improvements since we began this almost a year ago."

Skye was ecstatic! She had never been a part of anything, especially something so impactful.

"I think that's awesome," She attempted to hold back her excitement, "I would love to participate."

Ms. Acacia smiled and explained that Skye would have to deliver a note to excuse her from tomorrow's practice. She was then given directions to the committee office before Ms. Acacia shooed her away, telling her to hurry, since a meeting about Sunday's bake sale was being held and likely nearly finished.

She managed to find the assigned room and entered just as a crowd began gathering their things to leave. She introduced herself and recited that Ms. Acacia sent her to help with the bringing-together events. Before dispersing for the evening, the committee welcomed her and told her where and when to be for the bake sale.

When Skye returned to her room, she was pleasantly surprised to see Jesse sitting outside her door.

"Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah! I was just waiting for you to come back." Jesse smiled.

Skye invited her into her dorm, and the girls spent some time chatting, and Jesse teased Skye about Emery.

"What if he was just talking to me to get close to my cute friend," Skye scrunched her nose.

"Ha! I hope not. My heart belongs to another!" She announced dramatically.

"Pray tell," Skye played along.

Jesse smacked her reddening cheeks, "You wouldn't know him, but his name is Jax. My aunt used to be close friends with his mom, so we grew up together, in a sense."

"You'll have to point him out to me."

"I will! He attends the academy, too."

The topic of "boys" felt foreign to Skye. She hadn't experienced giggling over boys--she had always had far more life-threatening issues to attend to.

Jesse was the one to change the subject.

"So, I was thinking we should hit the pizza place down the street," Jesse suggested, "On me..." She batted her doe eyes pleadingly.

"Well, I guess I can't turn down free food," Skye responded playfully.

The girls excitedly brainstormed ideas, deciding on a sleepover after dinner. Jesse would lug over some bedding and they would have a girl's night together. Skye couldn't wait--she had never had a slumber party. She had already planned an outfit to make this whole plan possible! If she wore baggy sweatpants and a loose hoodie, she would be able to hide her wings beneath her bulky clothes and tuck them into her pants while also remaining comfy.