Wings of a Feather

Chapter 7

By the time Heather managed to convince Riley to return home, the sun was low in the sky.

As restless as ever, she couldn't resist taking another stroll through the woods. Everything was quiet, as the world around her prepared for another night of silence. Aside from her, of course.

Heather had never been one to sleep soundly. Perhaps it was from years of surviving on her toes, that left her unable to fully let her guard down. Nevertheless, Heather had grown accustomed to sleeping a few hours every couple of nights.

Her wings still hung limply through the holes in the back of her shirt. She glanced back at them, all white and feathery, and sighed. There was no way she could fit in among people with wings. And the safest place to hide was surrounded by faceless people, not drawing any attention and merely blending in.

She was definitely going to have to control them. Her life depended on it.

She walked with no destination in mind, and by the time she reached the a sizable clearing, it was already dark out. The trees parted around her, and Heather smiled to herself as she looked around the opening with interest. This was the perfect place for a little training.

Heather spread out her wings and got to work.

~

Meanwhile, Riley was on the other end of the forest, on his way to the local high school.

He figured that if his new companion was insistent on them attending class, he might as well sign up while he had the time. It was Friday night, and with luck, they would be walking down the halls as students by Monday.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his ears pricked and alert in case someone or something decided to sneak up on him. Although at this time of night it was unlikely, Riley kept his tail safely tucked into his jeans, just in case.

And it was a good thing too, because sure enough the sound of footsteps growing closer made Riley freeze in his tracks.

They were still a good distance away, but the hybrid's sensitive ears picked up the slight movement. Riley hurried over to the nearest tree and started to climb, which for him, was an unsurprisingly easy task. As he scurried up the tree, he couldn't help but smile at the memory of how he had first met Heather just the other day, while she had been hiding in a tree.

His amused thoughts were interrupted when two figures walked in to sight, just as Riley made himself comfortable on a high branch. If he hadn't had enhanced vision, Riley predicted that he might not have been able to see the two people in this darkness at all.

"Hey," Riley's ears twitched at the sound of a male voice. "Do you smell that?" The two figures stopped walking, and one of them began looking around.

Riley stiffened. Smell? Dread swirled in his gut as he inhaled, and confirmed that the two figures below him were werewolves. Dogs, just my luck.

The other figure, another male, looked around curiously, trying to pinpoint the strange smell. Riley nearly yelled in frustration when he realized that right now he was a cat, hiding in a tree, with two dogs circling beneath him like sharks.

"That's odd." The first guy continued. "I could have sworn that I-" And with a quick jerk of his head upwards, his eyes were on Riley. Riley froze, eyes going wide. The guy who spotted him elbowed his friend, still looking up at the strange boy hiding in a tree with surprise.

Riley gulped and slowly tucked in his ears to flatten against his head. Werewolves had famously sharp hearing and sense of smell, but their sight was only slightly above average, and Riley was praying that they hadn't noticed his ears.