Dancing Feather

[GREYtheFLAILER]

Prologue.

I was falling.


This, however, was all I could tell.


I couldn’t recall how I got to be falling, nor did I have any idea why I was descending into the depths of some, seemingly deep, hole. The wind burned my bare chest, neck, arms, and head, as I fell, causing an uncomfortable stinging sensation to flow throughout my entire body. I gritted my teeth harshly, before attempting yet again to open my eyes. Immediately a white, bright light entered my vision, not allowing me to see anything; absolutely nothing. I shut my eyes against the agonizingly painful light, continuing my fall. Fear gnawed at me relentlessly, and I began to think, was it possible I was dead? Is this what it felt like, to be dying?


But, how did I get here? Why am I dying?


I couldn’t recall my own name if asked, let alone what was happening to me. I didn’t stop to think for one minute that the fall could possibly end. Maybe my mind was avoiding it on purpose, without my knowing. Maybe I really was dying, and my mind was trying to comfort me, by blocking out my memory? I didn’t know; I couldn’t possibly know. All I knew, all that was familiar to me, was that I was falling. Fear ate away at the edges of my mind, and my stomach flipped around relentlessly inside of me.


It was then it dawned on me.


What goes up, must come down.


Fleetingly, I tried to pry my eyelids over my stinging eyes once more, but the light just exploded into my vision yet again, causing me to shut them with a brief grimace. How long would I fall for, before I landed? Would I land? Questions raced through my mind with alarming speed, confusion becoming my dominant emotion. What the hell is going on? I struggled, attempting to grasp something, anything, but my attempts failed rather miserably. I could barely make myself move, with the force to the air pushing my body flat. If I landed, surely I would be dead. Then, someone would find my body, rotting alone, and wouldn’t know what happened. I would have fallen to my death, and go unremembered and uncared for. But, who would remember me? I don’t think I have anyone, or, I didn’t know. What if I did? Once again, questions clouded my mind, before I collided into the hard earth below me, rather unexpectedly.


My thoughts halted, my breath hitching in my throat. I didn’t exhale; I just didn’t move. Waiting for death may be a sad way to go, but I hadn’t wanted to suffer. It was only when I cracked an eye open, I realised, to my dismay, I was still very alive. It appeared I was in a large forest at night, the moonlight shining down through the parted trees, to reflect off of my own pooling blood.


Then, all at once, the pain from my injuries blasted me. I screamed, the sound choked and hoarse, before another round of pain overwhelmed me. My jaw was dislocated, this was rather easy to feel. It hung off to the right, oddly uncomfortable, and pounded with each and every inhale I took. Why wasn’t I dead?


Six broken ribs, another cracked, a collapsed lung, a fractured left femur, shattered left arm...


Health problems starting listing through my pounding head, utterly unasked-for, and completely random. Why did I know this? Or better question, how?


Internal bleeding, cracked skull, dislocated jaw...


They continued to list to me mentally, in what seemed like on oddly familiar voice. Maybe I was dead, and this,-this place, was all a dream. A death dream? I looked around me briefly, being careful to not move, before realizing something. I wasn’t breathing. Immediately, I forced a breath past my lips, and grimaced at the pain that wracked through my body. Right, collapsed lung. Perfect.


Get up.


The voice was small, but captivating. It sounded like the same voice previously listing my own injuries, but a tad more... demanding. All other thoughts within my mind came to a grinding halt rather quickly, as if completely overridden with this one, demanding little thought. Something, seeming like an instinct of sorts, told me to listen. Who knows, maybe I’d gone mad. Either way, at least I had something to work towards. With all these injuries, if I tried to stand, I’d probably slump back into the bloodied mud, dead.


Sounds good, to me.


Slowly, I used my un-shattered arm to push myself up, sputtering as the blood on my tongue trickled back down my throat. Pain seemed to want to rule my actions, causing my vision to swim, and threatening to pull me back down to the ground. I groaned, before closing my eyes to regain focus.


Get. Up.


The voice, once again, demanded. Its voice was harsh and abrupt, clearly telling me I needed to get up. So, that’s exactly what I did. I forced my broken knees to bend, tightening my dislocating jaw to stop from screaming, and hoisted myself onto my feet.


It hurt like hell.


Another small whimper escaped through my parted lips, before I looked up at the moon, pleading within my eyes. Let me die, now. Don’t make me suffer. I’d prayed towards the bright light, only before the voice returned.


Heal.


It said, causing an irritated sigh to escape me, though forced. What did this guy want? It’s not like I could—Click. The noise caught me off guard, as pain shot through my jaw. It relocated itself. What the hell? In the back of my mind, that one little health problem was scratched off of the list. But, that wasn’t the only one. A gross, disgusting cracking noise rung in my ears, as I looked down at my broken, burned leg. It was twisting; repairing. The burned flesh covering my body slowly started to pull together and smooth over right before my eyes, looking of perfection once it was finished.


So much for dying.


One by one, the little health problems in the back of my head disappeared, as I felt several areas in my body restore and repair themselves. Then, within minutes, I looked over my body, completely painlessly. My skin was flawless, without a single cut or bruise, and I felt strong. Not living, strong... But abnormally powerful. I flexed my entire body, looking up at the moon above me.


“Thank you.” I spoke softly, and then paused rather abruptly. That voice—It was the same one that had told me what to do. And yet, I know I didn’t speak to myself. Was I talking to myself without even realizing it? I yelled, a victorious, primal sound, while crashing a first against my hard chest. I was alive, and brutally strong; indestructible. A few feet away a raven, previously resting in a tree branch, cawed and hopped from the tree, spreading its long, flawless wings and taking flight.


Flight.


There it was again! My brow furrowed, as I thought about it. Flight? What was that supposed to mean? Then, all at once, my shoulders caught fire.


Not literally (trust me, I’d checked), but it felt as if a wild, hot flame was devouring them. I grimaced and grasped at my shoulder blades frantically, clawing and dragging my fingernails down my flesh, in a failed attempt to get the burning to stop. Instead, I felt my shoulder blades moving under my hands. Not normally, but they were growing; causing my skin to part, and little, black tips to be exposed. I screamed again, as blood streaked down my back, and the odd, black wings grew from my shoulder blades. They were bloodied and ebony in color, and within a few seconds the pain numbed, and they unfurled, spreading their full lengths and casting a shadow in front of me. I looked up to the moon, a bead of sweat coursing down the contours of my face, before releasing a small sigh. I still wasn’t breathing automatically. Slowly, I dragged my gaze back up to the moon, and shifted, flapping my wings carefully. It was odd, having control of them. I smirked, the movement small, but still existent, before curling my new wings into my shoulders.


That... is how I was born.