Wings

little sister

I stopped by the kitchen and grabbed a box of energy bars, a water bottle, some beef jerky, dried fruit, and iodine purification tablets. I also threw a pack of matches, a blanket, a knife, and being the Internet addict I was, my headphones, phone, and charger. Kestrel had torn out of the flat the moment I had gotten changed, and I could hear her downstairs babbling to Josh about how I had gone all raging she-demon on her. I listened as Josh calmed her down and heard his footsteps coming upstairs.

He stopped outside my door, and I heard him open it. I suddenly felt like a small child caught breaking a vase as he faced me with disappointment evident on his face. “Is it true?” he asked. “Did you just chase Kestrel out of your living room and threaten her?” I nodded, looking at the floor shamefacedly. Josh sighed, rubbing across his face. “Melody, I thought I was done dealing with a moody younger sister when you moved out. I guess I was wrong. Mel, Kestrel was being the voice of reason. On a completely unrelated note, is the wings rumor true?” I had slashed slits in the back of my jacket for ease of spreading my wings, as I did now.

Even though my wings were extended in all of their demonic, ten-foot glory, Josh didn’t even flinch. He just stepped closer to me and hugged me, hard. I felt like I was fifteen and had disagreed with my parents again, running to Josh as I always did. Only, this time I had been the one instigating the trouble. I almost started crying, barely holding the tears back. Kestrel, Josh, and Renée had always been the three grounding elements in my life. Now it was just Josh and Renée, maybe, and my baby sister was in Chicago, three thousand miles away. I sighed, thinking that I would talk to Kestrel after I tested my wings. I was still high on adrenaline, and I really needed to blow off some steam.

I hugged Josh back, and then pulled away. I folded my wings against my back, although I didn’t bother tucking them behind my sweatshirt. “Listen, now really isn’t the best time for relationship advice,” I said as gently as I could. “Josh, I just got wings and Kes was trying to stop me from testing them out. I packed enough stuff for a week of survival on my own, and I really need to figure this out. Can you let Renée know that I’m going off the map for a while?”

Josh smiled and nodded. “While I would love to lecture you about your relationship with Kestrel, I’m proud to see you taking control of your life. Can I count on you to talk to her when you get back?” I nodded my acceptance of his terms. He grinned at me, said, “Don’t kill yourself trying to figure out how to fly,” and waved me out the door. I had forgotten how much I missed having an unrelated older brother.