This story was written by me. If I find anybody copying this without my permission, I will report you.
Part 1: The Beginning
I sat amongst a small nest of thieves, all with devil wings, superhuman climbing, the ability of teleportation, or perhaps, something more. Not one creature stood here without an ability of some kind, and I was no exception. The nest was no more than a cave, but it sat over 30,000 feet above land, and only those with gifts could reach here, most given some flying ability, giving it the nickname, "The Nest." I was one of those creatures, being demonic in form, though I was only half demon, and strangely, half bird. I was given two different kinds of wings: an angelic, and a demonic, setting me different than most others in the Shichiyou Abyss which made up our home. Every time someone new made it to our nest, they would give me a strange look, and stare at me, until someone told them to stop. For being half was a rare commodity, and to earthlings, it would be like growing up with a rare, easily seen, physical body disorder, like a missing arm, or having two heads. Thankfully, once people grew used to the sight of me, they seemed to treat me fairly.
"It's a marking of how different you are from every else. You're not like them, you're too smart. They're nothing compared to you, as weak as humans." My mother had told me, but she would never understand. They never had. "Now are you going to eat your supper, or will you leave it to grow cold?"I sat down without another word, deciding not to get on my mother's bad side. My mother, unlike me, lived far below the nest, for though she was demonic, her abilities were rather different, giving her slight summoning powers. It was like hypnotism to earthlings, where it could control others, but only the weak.
I scooped a spoonful of food into my mouth, it being only half as grotesque as the last meal. Every day for food, people would have to hunt for themselves, taking any animal- be it deer, bear, racoon, or bird. The souls of the lost were sent here, and because there were many, all animals were free kill for demons of our kind. Whatever the kill was today, it seemed to be a bird of some kind, for its feet seemed to protrude just outside the pile of mush that was our dinner. I wolfed down what I could, and when I could eat no more, I took the remaining food, and put it in a small pot that could keep it warm for sevral day before it goes bad, opposite a refridgerator, for humans.
"You seem very quiet today. Good for you, keep control of yourself and maybe you won't end up like those light-heads." she laughed aloud.
The light-heads in our world were given powers as well, they were opposite us, fighting for peace, freedom and fair rights, all things that demonics could not stand. When found, they were savagely attacked, tortured, and- more commonly- murdered. I would feel sorry for them, if it were not shunned upon in our land.
"Ahh, tis a tragedy your father couldn't be here to see you grow up as you have. He'd have been so proud of you! Keep this up, and you'll be on a one-way path to the Kurai Mezon!" Directly translated- the Dark House. Basically a house for demonic royalty, including our king, Mugoi Kira Kokuou. "Just make sure you stay away from those bloody Airies. Stupid light-heads wouldn't know what's good for them if it popped out of the ground and burned them all alive!"
I smiled lightly, "Yeah. Majo, I get it. So, are there any hits on them yet?"
"None yet," she shook her head, "There were some sightings along Narrow Creek, but mostly just gossip and rumor. The works." she rolled her eyes, "Gah! Can't wait till they're caught. Damn Airies will get theirs, someday."
I nodded, and hurried towards her room, where I was in charge of cleaning today. I didn't have to, of course, but every few days I would clean it for her because I felt so indebted to her for all that she'd done. I grabbed a few clothes off the floor, and threw them into a basket where I would later clean them, but as I picked one up, I saw a letter just below it. Curiousity overcame me, and I found it was already open, so I pulled the paper out of the letter, and started to read.
Dearest Majo,
The Air-lits have gone completely out of control, and I'm afraid there's nothing left we can do. A week from this date, I need you to meet me at Autumn's Gate. We will have to take the offensive. You-know-who's on the front lines. They will not be afraid to fight us, and neither we of them. Take care of Ketsueki, for I'm afraid no one else can. I will die by the sun's end. You are the love of my life, and even if I am reincarnated to take form of some other creature half way around the world, I could never forget you. If not by memory, then by soul. Goodbye.
Karappo
It couldn't mean... I felt my body freeze, and slowly, ever so slowly, I dropped the letter, tears about to fall from my face. No!! Keep control over your emotions!! But I could not. Tears slid down my cheeks, one hitting the rock-hard floor, and the other landing on the letter. If anyone had seen me like this, even Majo...I would have hell to pay. "Oh Ketsi, I have one more thing I wanted to ask-"
Hearing her voice sent my heart into a frenzy, beating so fast I felt as though it'd explode. I looked around, and found a window. Quickly, I cracked it open, grabbed my jacket I'd found on the floor, and jumped out. I shut the window to undermine any suspicion, zipped up my jacket, put up the hood, and took off. After running just across the street towards the edge of the rocky mountain, I jumped off, outspreading my wings, and soaring through the bright open skies. I flew for what seemed like hours, until I was so completely lost, being unable to makeout a town from a car. I flew farther down below, and I found only a small lake and a forest at its side. I decided to take a break and stop flying for a moment, my wings feeling heavy and sore. Landing quietly on my toes, I sniffed, and walked for a few minutes deeper into the forest, until I was finally so mentally exausted that I sat at the edge of a tree and curled up in a fetal position, and just let my tears flow down.
Minutes had passed, perhaps hours, I wouldn't have known, until I heard something, a small click of a nearby snapped twig. I instantly pulled my hoodie up to cover my face, and outstretched my wings in order to look terrifying, and looked around, on full alert. Most people would think- oh, it's just a little animal, it's nothing. But not I, I knew better. "Show yourself!" I shouted, doing everything I could to keep my voice from cracking, "Coward!"
Slowly, someone walked from behind a tree, looking neither surprised, nor in any ways scared. She was calm, and had a strange light colored face. Her ears were long and pointed, and her hair was blonde, long and flowing in the gentle breeze, and her eyes- caring and kind, and without worry. She must be an Airie. I growled viciously at her as a warning to stay back, and she stopped, but surrounding me, I heard clicking of all kinds. Men stepped from behind the trees and if I looked up, I could see those same strangely-colored people from up above, all with one thing in common- arrows, pointed directly at me. "Please, dear one, we do not wish to harm you, but we will if we must. If you dare hurt me, any one of my men can and will shoot you, and I promise, they will. Do I have your word you will control yourself?"
I paused for a moment, trying to understand the situation, when finally it clicked. She was an airie- not only that, she was their leader. Any one of the demonic from my home would kill to be in this position, to have the chance to kill her, or at least hurt her, even if it cost them their lives. But not me. I had never really cared either way, I only said I hated them as much as everyone else so as not to be thought of as an air-worshipper, as they, too, were killed. But that didn't mean I liked them. I mean, how dare they try and change the hearts of demonic? To kill us for our way of life, and our beliefs? But what else could I do?
"Please, my Lady, let us kill her now. She could be a spy, and she's clearly demonic, any minute now she will run up and kill you." One of her men bravely said, bowing to her as he spoke.
"At ease, captain. I have many guards, if anything were to happen, you will be in charge, and she will be killed-"
"But!-"
"No buts." she told him, staring at me. "Well? Do I have your word?"
I shut my eyes tightly, lowered my wings back against my back, and shut my mouth. "Fine. Y-you have my word." I said, my voice cracking.
The woman snapped her fingers, and sevral men surrounded me, grabbed my arms and pulling them behind me, and holding me down in case anything should happen. The girl walked towards me as one of the men pulled my hood up, and I hung my head, hiding my face in my hair, ashamed to let them see my face, reddened by my tears. "Look up." she said, and when I did not, the man roughly pulled my head up to see her face. She seemed surprised as she stared at my face, "Men, bring her towards me." she ordered. They followed her command and came closer, though they did not seemed pleased to do so, and the woman walked a slow circle around me, staring me up and down, and stopping for a moment right behind me.
"Well, well, what's this?" she inquired, "I must say, your wings are very strange. Half demon..." and as she continued on, stopping right in front of me, she looked and me and finished, "And half Air-lit."
My eyes widened momentarily and I barked at her, "Take that back!!"
The men held me down as I jerked, one of them grabbing my neck, about to snap it, when she waved her hand, guestering for him to stop. She kneeled just under a foot away from me, so close that if my hands weren't tied, I could claw her face from where I was held. "Now, what's so wrong about Airies? We aren't so bad."
"Ha! Monsters are what you are! You kill our kind for how we live, how we grow up, our beliefs! And you dare say you're not bad?!" I'd have spat on her, if I had the guts.
She seemed confused, "Us? Kill you because of your beliefs? What nonsense are you talking about? Where did you hear this?"
I rolled my eyes, "Everyone knows it, it's not like you could hide it. The king told everyone about all the nasty things you do. We steal, yes, and we'll kill animals and those who don't treat us well, but to kill our kind for that?"
Her eyes changed when I mentioned the king, "So that's it. Kokuou, I should've known." she shook her head, "Alright, let her go."
"What?!" they exclaimed in total shock. "Please, Milady, she'll kill you!! Have some sense!"
She laughed gently, "Please, she wouldn't hurt me, she's not like the others, I can tell. She's been misinformed, is all. Mugai spreads lies of us so they'll kill us when they can, but it seems it's the only reason she wants to hurt us. And men, look, one side of her is demonic, but you can clearly see she's part Air-lit, and we do not let our sisters die on accordance to blood-relations."
"But Milady!"
She shook her head, "She's had enough of a rough day already, can't you see the tears on her face? Let her go. Watch her if you must, but let her go."
The guards unwillingly let go of my arms, and I fell to the ground. They stared at me closely, watching for any move I might make. She started to turn around, and I shouted, "Wait!" Slightly surprised, she stopped, and looked at me. "Please, how...am I really part Air-lit? And...and what does this mean? The king?"
She smiled, staring at the guards with an I-told-you-so look, and returned back to where I sat. "The king lies. A very long time ago, he asked us of something we could not give him, and he grew rageful, deciding to kill any and all of us that stood in between him and the thing he quested. He hateds us, to the bottom of his miniscule bite-sized heart, he despised us. He tells lies so you may hate us, and try to kill us, but it's not us that does the killing. Mugai is the one that kills us. He send his army out to each and every one of us, and I've always wondered why they stare at us with such...hatred." she smiled, "Well, at least know we know why."
I stared at the ground, could this be true? "And am I...am I really part Air-lit? Is that why I've always looked this way?"
She looked thoughtful for a moment, "Well, I must admit, it's pretty rare to see both demon and air-lit combined in a single body, but...shouldn't I be the one to ask you that? Are you Air-lit?"
"I...I don't know. My parents died when I was little, and my care-taker says all our pictures died in a fire." I said truthfully.
She held out her hand, "Come with us, young one. I'll let you live with us. Teach us all you know of your kind, and we will show you the truth, rather than what your king wants you to believe. I will give you one chance. Come with us now, or come with us never. I will let you choose."
I hesitated. She hadn't forced me to come with her, though I now knew where the Air-lits were. I could tell the demonics, and be welcomed to the Kurai Mezon with open arms, or I could turn traitor, and learn 'the truth' about our king. I looked at her eyes, caring and kind...and truthful. If there was one thing I'd learned as a demonic, it was how to detect a lie. So either A) she was a really good liar, or B) she wasn't lying. I took her hand, and let her help me up. I bowed somewhat awkwardly, "I...I will tell you everything you need to know."
She smiled, and curtsied, "And I you."
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