Limitations

2) Home

I sat down on the bed, surveying the room. It was painted a stone grey color, but only half of the wall was visible. The other half was covered in posters, most of them featuring video game characters. There were two beds in the room, one was mine, and one was belonged to Jacks, Anna's son. Jacks had been informed that he would be sharing the room, or course, but he had never met me, and he didn't know about my....black feathery situation. Also known as: My wings. I heard a footsteps coming up the stairs, and the door opened, revealing Jacks, who was dragging his backpack along behind him. "So, you're my roommate huh?" Jacks asked, flopping down on his bed. "Yeah." I said. My wings were folded, so as long as he continued looking at my front, he wouldn't see the wings. There were bandages all over them, and bandages on my right arm. The heavy cast still remained on my left, and when my vision had cleared up, I had been able to read the words on them.

"So, do you like video games?" Jacks asked. I shook my head. "I've heard of them, but I never got to play any." I said. Jacks sat up and stared at me, a questioning look on his face. "Are you serious?" He asked. I nodded. "Then c'mon, let's play!" He said, getting up and opening the closet. He pulled out a box, and walked over. I pulled a blanket over my back as he approached, and shifted nervously when he sat down next to me. "These are all the handheld games I've received over the years. Take your pick." He said. I looked down in the box. I saw one, near the edge, that said Gameboy on it. "What's that?" I asked, pointing towards it. He picked it up. "It's a Gameboy. A really old handheld game. Here, give it a try." He said, digging in the box. He pulled out a squarish object, and put it in the Gameboy. "Here. You use this to move," He said, demonstrating. "And this to open up your bag." He placed the Gameboy in my hands, and turned it on. "Thanks Jacks." I said.

The game loaded, and and the title screen popped up. "Pokémon?" I asked. He nodded. "It's fun. Trust me." Okay. I trusted him. I started, and just before I had a chance to really do anything, the bedroom door opened again. It was Anna. "Jacks, Three, it's time to eat." She said. I jumped up without thinking, and the blanket slid off my back, revealing two feathery wings, folded tightly against my back. Jacks froze. He was halfway off his bed at the time, so he tripped and face planted into the carpet. He slowly got up, rubbing his head. "Nice wings dude, I thought they were real at first." Jacks said, walking closer. "Three? You didn't tell him?" Anna asked. I shook my head. "I didn't think it would be a good topic for the first time we met." I said. "Mom, what are you talking about?" Jacks asked. I sighed. "Jacks, these aren't fake." I said, brushing a feather off of my shoulder. "Prove it." Jacks said. "I need a little more room to prove it." I said. "The backyard then." Jacks said, grabbing my hand. "Boys, wait! It's lunch time!" Anna shouted, but we were already going down the stairs. 

"Jacks, is this neccesary?" I asked as he pulled me out the back door. "No, but I want proof!" Jacks said. He let go of my arm. There was a huge, bare limbed tree in the middle of the yard, surrounded by a ring of dirt that slowly transitioned into grass the farther from the tree it was. "Okay. Fly." Jacks said. "When I said I needed more room, I didn't mean to fly." I said. "Please." Jacks begged. "Fine." I said. With a loud whoosh my wings unfurled. 

The look of admiration in Jacks eyes made me feel special, and I promised I'd fly, and when I did, I bet his expression would be even better. I approached the tree, placing a hand on it, before grabbing ahold of one of the branches and pulling myself up. But the branch wasn't high enough. I climbed up one more, and then another, and another. The branch I was now on was thin, and bent under my weight. I was lighter than the average human, with hollow bones for better flight. I heard a crack, and the branch under me broke. I started falling, but my bird instinct took over, and my wings acted almost on their own accord. I was hovering a good thirty feet above the tree when control was handed to me again. I panicked, and the time between flaps became shorter and shorter. I was tiring myself out, just hovering. I needed to figure out how to get down. "Jacks, grab ahold of the bandage." I said, unwrapping one of my arm bandages. I grabbed the end, and allowed the other to fall, but it was just short of the point where Jacks could grab it. Jacks jumped, trying to get it, but failed. My wings were losing strength, and I wouldn't be able to stay airborne much longer.

My wings locked up all of the sudden, and I started to fall. "Three! Act as though you're controlling yourself with a controller!" Jacks shouted. "Pretend you're in a game, and you're controlling yourself." I held my hands out, as though I was holding a Gameboy, and pretended to push the buttons. As though I really was controlling myself, I started to move with the pretend controls. I pressed the down button, and I slowly began to descend. As I neared the ground, Jacks smiled. "Jacks! You are brilliant!" I shouted to him. I reached one hand down for a Hi-Five, but when his hand connected with mine, I grabbed it, and pulled him into the sky with me. "Jacks, do exactly as I say." I said. I had seen the other human-avian mixes do this, so why couldn't I try. "Okay." Jacks said, but fear laced his voice. "Grab my hands." I said. He did, and I hoisted him up on my back. "Just try not to pull the feathers, or get smacked by the wings!" I shouted, and grabbed my 'invisible' Three controller. I flew up to the roof, and carefully guided myself down on top of it. 

"Jacks? Three?" Anna's voice said. I jumped off the roof, landing lightly on the ground. Anna stared. "Y-you... Flew?" She asked. Jacks nodded, a smile on his face. He climbed off my back, and hi-fived me. "That," He said. "Was cooler than video games."