Biggest surprise of my life

Today was a typical day in London – busy. Cars were congesting the roads and honking, drivers were on their phones or shouting at each other, and cyclists were getting in the way as always. Angel looked down at the commotion below and couldn’t help but smile. Up here in the sky, there was no traffic. You just had to watch out for the occasional plane, though he usually flew a little lower than that. He was just glad he didn’t feel the cold; otherwise he’d be frozen up here....

He let out a sigh before coming down, landing in Hyde Park, out of sight of any human. Angel pulled a face as he tucked his wings in. They slipped through the slits he had in his t-shirt and were tucked tight against his back. Thanks to the t-shirt been baggy, you wouldn’t be able to tell he had wings. The only slight give away was that his eyes weren’t normal, but people didn’t usually notice that. And if they did, they shrugged it off. So what if someone’s eyes had a gold ring around the pupil?

Walking out into the park, Angel let a smile cross his face. It was a nice day for once, a surprise in England. Usually it was cloudy or windy or raining... and sometimes, it was all three. But the sun was out, and the weather was nice and warm, putting Angel in a good mood. In fact, he felt like lying down and relaxing on the grass... he might as well try to soak up some of the sun’s rays. He didn’t want to be pale as paper for ever, after all. He just wished he had some food as well – living on the streets sucked. But he’d managed it for three years. He was sure he’d be fine... he’d get his own place someday. Hopefully.

Walking onto the short green grass, Angel laid himself down, arms behind his head and eyes closed as he let himself relax, thoughts just running through his mind.

Little did Angel know, today was the day his life was going to change.

The day was beautiful. Charlie had been to London many times before and she had to say, the sun felt nice. She smiled at the familiar smell of sunshine and the feel of a light breeze, and she was thankful that the kid they had tracked was here in this beautiful park, it seemed the kid had some sense. She had tracked people in the most disgusting alley-ways with the worst of every kind of person imaginable and just thought to herself why?. But not here and not today, her blond hair was pulled back into a loose bun and she wore her training clothes, a black tank top and shorts. Of course she had her rough leather bag slung over her shoulder, the trip had been long, but the walk was nice. Her gentle hazel eyes scanned the park, time to get down to business.

The people at the institute had gotten a clear mental image of the kid and described him to her, but what stood out to them where his eyes. Yes, blond hair, and blue eyes, with a gold ring. But to Charlie's dismay she reasoned that she couldn't just go up to every person asking to look at their eyes, but it was a start. And that was when she saw him. He was lying in the grass and she felt another mutants presence. She was getting good at that. And a half smile spread across her face, game time.

Her pace quickened as she approached him, she kind-of envied him seeing him lie there, he looked peaceful and calm. So she approached as quietly as possible. Although she had an idea, call it cruel but she liked to make a game out of these things. She sat down cross-legged a few feet from the kid and then lay back with her hands behind her head. And with a cool glance over to the kid she said

"A beautiful day no?"

Angel's eyes opened wide as someone lay down next to him and addressed him. He looked over to see a girl, which was bad enough... but to make matters worse, she was a pretty girl! Angel wasn't exactly the biggest when it came to social skills... heck, he'd been on his own for three years. It's not like he'd had many people to talk to. As it was, it was hard for him not to blush, though he somehow managed not to. Still, he felt really awkward - he needed to get used to people.

"Aye, it is."

He looked over the girl. He could tell she was American straight away - the accent was a give away. She was dressed in a black tank top and shorts. Her blonde/white hair was pulled up in a bun, and she had a bag slung over here shoulder. And... she seemed different. She looked like a normal person, but something was weird about her... Angel just couldn't place it.

He was confused though. Why would someone want to come over and talk to him? He had to admit, he did look a bit scruffy. His t-shirt was mucky, and his jeans were wearing out on the knees, and stained by grass and mud. Well, he did live on the streets - it wasn't like he could clean them all the time. He needed some more clothes, but they were a bit harder to steal than bits of food. And to be honest, even that got on his conscience.

"So..." He said, trying to think up of something to say. At times like this, Angel wished he could turn invisible. He'd give almost anything for it... anything, but his wings. " What brings you to the UK then?"

She smiled sweetly as she sensed his awkwardness, she was the same way usually, you know when she wasn't bringing mutants back to the academy. As relaxed as she seemed, inside she was alive with energy. She hadn't used her power in some time and it was building up inside of her. She felt like she could run for miles and then climb the Eiffel tower, but more than anything she wanted to fly. She had seen this guy up in the air and she wanted more than anything to go soaring across they sky. She usualy refrained, although it was a favorite pass time, because it took up so much energy and she hated being tired. But she held herself back Calm Charlie, Calm, just wait till you get home. she told herself, but the sky looked so blue....

She almost didn't notice he was talking to her again, but came back to reality just in time. " What brings you to the UK then?" he asked her

Charlie turned her head and grinned, her eyes glinted green "You do actually. Tell me, how long have you had the wings? And can you do more? I know there is more to mine than meets the eye." She stretched her legs out as if they were talking of nothing more than the weather or lunch. This was her favorite part. All of them acted differently, all of them could do different cool stuff.

And Charlie kind of got to show off a little bit. Usually she wasn't a big advocate of showing off...like ever, but it was in these situations that she liked to see them realize that they were not alone and not crazy, it was the getting them to come to the academy that was the hard part. Because the Academy needs more mutants, and Charlie had found that the mutants need the academy, whether they admit it or not. They would all be lost with out it, that was something she was sure of.

A confused look passed Angel's face when the girl told him it was him that brought her to the UK. And then all the colour drained from his face as she asked how long he'd had his wings. He jumped up onto his feet, feeling his nerves wracking through him. How did she know? What did she want? And what did she mean that there was more to hers than meets the eye?

"I've had my wings all my life... how did you know about them? Who are you?" He asked, breathing quick breaths. Oh God... this wasn't good. He was scared now, and that could be dangerous. "S... Stay away from me! I don't want to hurt you!"

He stepped back and tried to focus on his breathing, taking deep, slow breaths. He was tempted to jump up into the air and fly away, but he had a feeling that wouldn't help very much. He didn't want to hurt the girl, but maybe he could scare her off... Focusing a bit, he made flames grow in his hands and go up his arms.

"Please... stay away. I can't control this!"

Charlie got up herself and sighed, silently cursing. She did it again. She never failed to freak them out. Ah well, she would have to deal. She brushed a stray hair out of her face as he light his arms on fire, telling her to stay away and that he didn't want to hurt her. She looked at him unimpressed, merely raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. Her steady hazel eyes looking at his blue and gold ones. Indeed he did have a gold ring around his pupils. She took a step back to show him she meant no harm, a cornered mutant is like a cornered lion, except this one was on fire. She took another breath before gently looking at his eyes and saying

"I know because I saw you, and now I see there is indeed more you can do. Please don't over react, I'm here to tell you your not alone." and as a sign of good faith she turned to the nearest tree, stretched out an arm palm up and facing the tree and slightly popped her wrist backwards, the wave of energy coursed towards the tree and cut a good sized gash into its midsection. Usually she wasn't happy about attracting attention, but this guys arms where on fire so she really didn't think it mattered any more.

She looked back at him and continued "There are more of us, and I have come to offer you a place to live. A place to live, train, and learn. Only for us, for mutants. And on the bright side it doesn't cost anything, board and meals for free." she gave him a gentle smile, she was dealing with fire here, and she had been singed enough times to know to watch it.

Angel watched as the girl shot a wave of energy at a nearby tree, cutting a gash into it. He felt himself go from scared to excited. There were more people like him out there! He couldn't believe it... he wasn't alone!

Taking a breath, he let the flames on his arm go out, a tingling feeling left behind for a second as they disappeared. He walked over to the tree to take another look at the gash, and put his hand on the bark. He had control over the elements which meant earth, right? So... maybe he could do this... Angel closed his eyes and concentrated on the tree, surprised to find he could... fell it. He could feel the life flow sluggishly through it and could feel where the gash was. Pouring some of his energy into the tree, Angel pushed the gash closed. Stepping back from the tree and opening his eyes, he looked at the gash, finding it had actually shut! However, he did feel dizzy from the loss of energy... it was most likely because of healing the tree.

He looked back at the girl, who continued to talk. So he wasn't a freak... he was a mutant. Was there a difference? Well, most likely, yes. For one thing, he wasn't alone! And... he couldn't believfe it. Today must have been his lucky day, the luckiest one in his life. He'd just been offered somewhere to live, where he'd learn and be fed... it sounded too good to be true. And in Angel's life, that usually meant it was.

"That sounds brilliant - it'd be good to get off the streets. But you said that's the bright side... what's the catch?" He asked. Realising he hadn't introduced himself, he walked over to the girl and offered his hand. Because of the fire in him, Angel was never cold and seemed to generate heat, like a radiator... but he wasn't too much above normal temperature. "The name's Angel Smith.... obviously named for the wings. So yeah.. I can control fire, and earth... and the rest of the elements."

This time Charlie didn't bother to hide her astonishment, there really was a lot this kid could do. He just healed a tree, and she had never seen that one before. She walked towards the guy (seeing as his arms where no longer on fire) and smiled as he said "...whats the catch?" this guy was smart. She shook his hand and said

"Hey Angel, I'm Charlotte Black, but please just call me Charlie." she picked up her bag before adding "The catch is you have to live in a house full of teenagers, not only with raging hormones but they all have super powers as well. And you sometimes have to go fight evil stuff but that's only if you want to." She stretched her arms up in the air, and faced the sky yawning a little bit. "The elements and you can fly? You have it cool man. I can shoot invisible energy at stuff and make it change shape. Much less flashy, but it gets me from A to B." she smiled at her own reference, her eyes where regaining their color every so slowly as they turned from brilliant blue back to their original gentle hazel.

As she re grouped she looked around, some of the people had seen what just went down and where blinking in slight dis-belief. Biting her lip slightly she looked all around at the faces and this made her heart beat faster, she felt like a fox that could sense the dogs coming after it. She looked to Angel, back to the tree, and then back to Angel

"Uh, we may need to scram, I'm not so fond of the police at the mo." she had had them called on her before, not a huge deal, the embassy usually sorts it all out and you get to go home, but getting yelled at and people touching her and shoving her...well she just didn't like the whole feel.

"Nice to meet you, Charlie." Angel said as she shook his hand. He listened to what she said about the catch and smiled. "That's a problem? Hah! Try living on the streets for three years... I just hope I fit in... I'm not really a people person, y'know? If my emotions get the better of me, my powers tend to be a bit... unstable."

He chuckled as Charlie told him about her abiility.

"It doesn't have to be flashy... I wish mine weren't. I don't like standing out, but it's kinda hard to blend in with wings." Finally, Angel noticed what had stood out about Charlie... her eyes! They changed colour. They had looked to be hazel, but then they'd gone green and then blue, and were now going back to hazel. He looked around to see that people were watching them. Obviously, they'd seen everything. It looked like Angel's time to leave here was due. He looked back to Charlie. " Aye, I'm not too keen on the pigs myself...."

He thought for a second as to the quickest way out of there... it didn't matter about drawing attention to themselves now, cos the humans had already seen what they could do. A thought came into his mind, but Charlie would have to go along with it. Unfolding his wings from his back, they poked out from the slits in his t-shirt, pure white and majestic. He held his arms out to Charlie.

"Sorry if this is too close and personal, too quick, but it's the fastest and easiest way out of here. Face forwards, stand on my feet, and I'll take off. I don't think we'd like a crowd coming after us, would we?"

((eeep! I love how brits spell color colour. I write it that way on my english papers and it drives my teacher crazy....ok back to the story.))

Charlie completely understood about not being a people person, she liked her peace and quiet and her self time. Selfish? Maybe. Enjoyable? Very.

"To be honest Angel, mutants don't really fit in, and because of that we all kind of accept each other. Besides, as cute as you are the girls at school shouldn't be an issue. Seriously, just looking at them will make their day." she gave him a weak smile. She hated most other girls. She tried not to be prejudice but the moment they wanted to talk about lip gloss shade or cute guys they saw on the subway, Charlie zoned out and usually just left the conversation. So she wasn't popular, she would survive. She would spend her time doing other things that would matter in the long run, because some how Charlie just had this over hanging notion that lip gloss would cease to matter when they where fighting for their lives, which tended to happen a lot as a mutant.

But Charlie's weak smile faded as Angel talked about the fastest way out of here. She hadn't told him, and that was her fault. She sighed
"Sorry I didn't explain this earlier, but I wasn't kidding when I said my power was more than it seemed..." she trailed off, she had best just show him. With two big steps and a jump on the last one she used the energy to keep herself suspended in the air. Locking her arms tighter by her sides she rose higher, and quickly looked back down to Angel.

"Hurry!" she called as others who where watching her started to get up and come over here.

O.k. so Charlie could kind-of fly, but not for extended periods of time, it was just to draining. She figured they may have to resort to Angels original plan if they had to fly for a while, but right now, just to get out of the park, this would work fine. She looked back down to Angel and motioned for him to follow. Right now, she really hated people.

((Calm down, lass XD It's only an extra 'u' XD))

Angel felt heat rush to his cheeks as he blushed when Charlie said he was cute. He looked at the ground to try to cover his face up from it, letting his hair fall in front of it. He never really saw himself that way... but then again, all his life, he'd seen himself as a freak. No one had wanted him, not even his dad. Angel didn't even know who his dad was, and had never heard his name. He hadn't heard his mother's either, but their last name had apparently been Smith... one of the most common surnames in the UK. As Angel had thought that over on a night, it sometimes seemed a bit off to him.... what kind of person would never tell a kid their dead parent's names?

"You know, I doubt that'll happen... besides, there's more important things to do. Like learning to control my abilities properly..." He said. In all honesty, he'd most likely be keeping to himself when he got to the school... he didn't want to stand out or anything. It would be weird enough getting used to been around people again without everyone crowding him to speak to him... and he liked been alone. It was something he'd grown used to and embraced these past three years. No one to bother him or tell him what to do, no one to pressure him, or call him names, or try to hurt him. No one for him to hurt if he lost control of his emotions....

Angel watched as Charlie took two steps forward and jumped... and began to fly! Well, there definitely was more to her abilities than she had let on, which she had told him earlier. Looking around him, he saw the people start to crowd round and come closer. And that made up his mind for him. He took a few steps, and jumped in the air, flapping his wings to gain height. He let out a whoop as he felt the wind rush through his hair, and felt the wind beneath his wings. This was the freedom he enjoyed so much, always been able to fly. He felt sorry at times that humans didn't have wings and couldn't fly like he could, but other times, he was glad, because it meant he had somewhere to himself.

"So, where are we going then?" He asked Charlie as he flew closer to her.

She made herself rise higher and then did a flip, it felt really good to be up in the air, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Where are we going? Certainly they couldn't fly all the way to New York, that would have been nice though. God Charlie hated airports, but they had to head there any way. Of course they couldn't fly there either, the crowd assembling below would just follow them. It was time for some defensive maneuvers.

"Lets play a game of hide-and-go-seek shall we?" she said and with a mischievous smile she added "Try to keep up." and she shot herself forward. Zooming through the air, like a bullet, although it was cold and it was giving her goose bumps. Some place they could land and then walk away un-seen. The unfortunate thing about being in London on a nice day is that every one is out. There were tons of people about and Charlie chewed her lip apprehensively as she thought and looked below her. She paused for a second, hovering in the air, and looked around and then back to Angel before lowering herself. Away from the park she flew and into the streets of London. Quickly she sped and turned into an alley way, keeping herself suspended in the air she dodged corners and tried to stay below the roof of the building, and she quickly turned again into a skinnier alley way. She tried to keep herself form laughing, something about being in the air was euphoric and made her giddy. She went like this for a while turning corners and dodging beams and fences as she tried to get herself lost from the public sight. She would look behind her occasionally to check on Angel but she figured he would be just fine.

Finally she stopped, she hovered in the air and looked around. Well they had most likely lost the people, but she herself was lost. Turning to Angel she said.

"Do you think you could find your way to the airport from here?" she smiled weakly at him in her folly "Cause our plane to New-York leaves in like 15 minuets. I hope you don't have any important stuff..."

Angel let a small smile cross his face as he watched Charlie do a flip. He saw her close her eyes, obviously thinking about something. He looked down and saw the crowd below growing larger, with people looking up at them, some pointing at them, some on their phones, and he saw flashes that confirmed some people were taking pictures. Great... they'd be all over the news and internet before the day was over.

"Oh, bugger..." He murmured as that thought went through his head. He looked up again as Charlie spoke to him, a smile on her face that no doubt meant she had something planned. Hide and seek? Sounded good... Hopefully, yhey'd lose this lot. After that, Charlie told him to keep up and then shot off. "Show off..." Angel laughed and followed, tucking his wings in to drop and gain some speed before letting them out again and leveling out, gliding forwards. He flapped his wings a bit to gain some height, but for the most part, he glided on thermals. That was one of the good things about it been a warm day - more heat was rising, which gave him lift.

As Charlie flew in alleyways, Angel found himself having to run across a few of the roofs. His wings were a bit large for some of these thin alleys, but he was able to keep up by running straight and jumping, while Charlie had to keep twisting and turning because of the corners. Eventually, she stopped flying, just hovering in the air, and asked if he knew the way to the airport, with a sheepish smile on her face. Apparently, they only had fifteen minutes to catch their plane to New York.

"Fifteen minutes? Are you joking?" Angel let out a sigh and wiped a hand down his face. "Airports here suck... it takes almost half an hour to actually get to the boarding area because of customs and everything... Though I'm sure we could find a way. Hmm....."

Thinking for a minute, Angel looked around him. Realising where they were, he let out a happy laugh of relief.

"Actually, it's just a bfew minutes in that direction." He said, pointing to where a plane had just taken off. "And knowing how the airports are, the flight is probably gonna be delayed anyway. So I'd say we have somehwere between half an hour to two hours. We're definitely going to make it. And no, I don't have anything important to get... I live on the streets, remember?"

Charlie smiled, that was one positive thing about picking up parentless mutants, they where always ready to go. It was when you picked up the penthouse, still have 2 parents who are both lawyers, kids that it really gets in the way. Messy good byes, promises to write, luggage, and it always took them forever to decide if they where going or not. And Charlie wasn't the best person with time, as seen here. Nodding Charlie acknowledged his words and said

"That way then?" gesturing to where he had pointed. Her hair had come undone and was hanging in a tangled mess around her face, her eyes where a pale blue seeing as she had flown a little ways very fast, but it felt good. Her heart was racing and she was sure she was flushed but she didn't care. Although she was afraid her flying would have to end here. It was to sketchy to continue just after they lost the crowd. She lowered herself to the ground and called up to Angel.

"We had best walk the rest of the way, we just lost one crowd and don't need another." she looked apprehensively out of the alley and saw a few people walking by, but none of them noticed her or Angel. But she knew she would have some explaining to do by the time she got home, God she hated the internet. She wouldn't get into serious trouble, just a scolding and some raised voices, she didn't kill any one so she would survive. She looked back out of the alley way, and saw the air port a fair distance away, about a 5 minute walk, they could make it.

"Aye, that way." Angel looked around again, making sure no one saw him. Charlie lowered herself to the ground, and Angel let himself off the roof... by jumping. As he got closer to the ground, he let some air blast out of his hands, slowing his descent. He didn't want to break any bones, after all. Unfortunately, this was the first time he'd tried such a thing, and he landed a bit harder than he'd have liked, though he luckily didn't fall over. He swore under his breath as the jolt from hitting the ground went through his body, and he walked around in a circle to walk off the pain.

"I agree... I don't think it'd be good either if we were followed... does this school have any way of tracking the pictures or videos that were took of us? I'd rather not be plastered all over the internet." He noticed that Charlie's hair had come out of the bun and she looked a bit red. He had to admit to himself, she didn't look too bad... but he had more important things to think about. Like how he was going to find this school. On the plus side.. at least he'd finally have a place to call home, where he'd be with others like him. It would be like having a family... something Angel had always dreamed of. He'd never known what it was like to have a family, and that was definitely something he was looking forwards to.

"Umm..." Angel said, a small blush forming on his face. "You might want to put your hair back and wait until you're not so red. A lad and lass walking out of an alleyway with you looking like that will probably get people thinking the wrong thing."

Charlie laughed, because he was right and the fact that he had to walk around in circles to get rid of that jolting pain that happens when you land to hard. She fixed her hair up right in the bun, but didn't really know what to do about her face so she just hoped it was better than before. She sighed and said

"Our school has some of the smartest people on the planet with ties in almost all of the governments....we have "people" I pretty sure they have already taken down any of the video's they would have uploaded. Never fear Nephilim, our secrets are safe." she gave him a reassuring smile but in her own head she was probably sure she would get her allowance revoked for a few weeks. Meh, collateral damage.

She had hoped she had regained herself to a socially acceptable point and emerged from the alley way, motioning him to follow once more. The sun felt good and she remembered her thoughts from when she first arrived at the park. She had found him in a good amount of time, she was always trying to compete with herself, if this wasn't her best time it was pretty darn close. Her eyes glinted as she looked around at all the people, no one would notice/remember two mutants from the park right?

Angel couldn't help but blush a bit more as Charlie laughed, his face going redder. He had only pointed out something that was obvious... and it had been the first time he'd tried that thing with air! Well, if this school was going to teach him to use his abilities properly, and learn full control, he guessed that there'd be a lot more things he'd end up doing for the first time.

"Well... that's good. And Nephilim? Where did you get that from?" He asked, a little confused. He'd never heard that term before. He hoped it wasn't a fancy way of calling him a nasty name - freak was bad enough, without people calling you other stuff.

As he followed Charlie out into the streets, he looked around as well, making sure no one from the park was there to recognise them. Luckily, there didn't seem to be, though a couple of people gave them looks as they walked out of the alleyway. Walking towards the airport, Angel tried to keep his excitement down. He didn't want anything to happen if he lost control, and he didn't know what would happen if he got excited. The only thing about theschool that scared him was the proespect of been with so many other people, especially of ones his own age. He'd not had a very good past with people, so it would take a lot of getting used to. But maybe he'd make some friends... he looked at Charlie. He could consider her his friend, right? After all, she'd come all the way to England to get him to come to this school, let him know he wasn't alone, wasn't a freak..

"So... tell me a bit about yourself, Charlie." He said, as they walked along. He wanted to get to know the person who had come to get him a bit better. "And a bit more info on the school would be nice, too."

With an internal sigh of relief she deemed the streets safe enough to walk in. And if some one looked at her or Angel funny as they emerged from the alley she would just look cross eyed at them, childish yet effective. And she was in a playful mood, and she wasn't resigned to maturity was she?

As she walked she explained "Nephilim, the children of angels and men. They were said to hold great powers, that they were superhuman. It fits." she could get all nerdy about it but decided to hold back. She had spent many hours in her room devoted to reading and learning whether it was for school or not. It was her favorite rainy day pass time. The rest of her life was so active and dangerous she liked to have something solid to hold onto, something that she could look back in history books, even if they where historical fiction, look back and just see that it was there. So, consequently, she knew a lot of stuff about old things and science, she was a nerd, but a proud one.

"So... tell me a bit about yourself, Charlie." He had said "And a bit more info on the school would be nice, too." About myself? she thought, she could talk about the school forever, but herself? It was an interesting question to say the least. But she had to start some where.

"Erm...well I have been at the academy since I was 13." she really didn't know what else to add so she moved on "The school, by the way, is called Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning. But we just call it the academy or the institute. At the beginning of each week you get your regular school assignments and you have to turn them in by the end of the week. We have boss capture the flag games in the forests and essentially we are trained to go into battle at any moment form the time we are old enough to join the school. Although it is pretty laid back now-a-days..." she trialed off, should she add the part about mutants disappearing and the deaths and the fact that they didn't even really know what they where fighting? Maybe she should save that one for after-noon tea.

She clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at Angel and gave him a weak smile "What about you? The wings? No family? It sounds like you have quite a story."

"Ah.." Angel said when Charlie told him what a Nephilim was. "You're right, it does. I like it."

Well, that was that cleared up. Been on the streets for three years, it wasn't like he'd had the chance to read. And he doubted he'd have learnt that at a regular school, though it was the kind of thing he was interested in. He'd always read comics about superheroes when he was younger, thinking that maybe one day... maybe one day, he could turn out like that. They had their superpowers, and no one called them freaks. They helped people, and managed to fit into society. It seemed that now, with this school, Angel might actually have his wish come true.

He nodded as Charlie told him about the school, though he noticed she didn't really have muc to say about herself. That was a shame, but hey... it gave him another reason to maybe hang out a bit once he got himself settled into the school. It would be nice to actually get to know people again, especially others like him. As he thought that, he wondered if there was anyone else at the institure who could do what he could, or if any had wings. He had flying down, but the elemental thing... well, that could definitely use some work. He also noticed Charlie trailing off at the end of what she said.

There's more to this... There's something she's not telling me. He thought, but decided not to press. He'd learn in time, hopefully. Besides, it couldn't be that bad, could it?

"Eh, not much of a story, really." He said, when Charlie inquired about him. "My mum died after giving birth to me. She managed to hang on long enough to name me, and I was born with my wings, so she named me for them. My dad gave me up to an orphanage, because he didn't want a freak for a son. I was sent from home to home, but no one wanted me, my wings kinda freaked everyone out. When I was thirteen, my wings were finally large enough for me to fly, so I practised and practised. I'd been bullied all my life by the other kids, who always called me a freak, and they'd pull on my wings, which hurt. I wanted out, so as soon as I could fly decently, I ran away.. or flew away, to be more exact. When I was there, the adults never really knew what to do with me. I was tutored at the homes, because hey knew school would be hell for me. But if I ever hurt my wings, they never knew whether to send me to the doctors, or to the vets... In the end, I had to let my wings sort themselves out, which they luckily did. I've been on the streets since I was thirteen, and then a couple of months ago, this elemental stuff kicked in. I still can't always control it, especially when my emotions get in he way... they make me dangerous, and I don't want to hurt people if I ever lose control. I've been up and down the country, trying to just find somewhere to be in peace, but where I could get food... unfortunately, I've had to steal a lot of it.... And now, you found me. It looks like a big change is going to happen in my life, and I hope it's for the better."

Sheesh she thought Rough Start. but she knew first hand people could be jerks. It happened. But she really couldn't think of much to say to it.

"I'm sorry you never knew your mom." she said honestly, and then she was hit with a wave of guilt, she held back while he let it out, it wasn't fair to Angel. She bit her lip and gave in "My mom is dead too." she made herself look at him although her heart was racing "She died when I was 11, my dad is in a mental hospital and my brother in a coma. He has my mothers eyes, my brother. But he is handsome like our father...." she swallowed hard and looked away "They where hurt in an accident." That I caused she added silently. She ended it there, there would be time for Charlie's sob story later, she didn't want to cry in front of him, lest he think her weak. After taking a deep breath she said

"I get not being able to control your powers when you first find them out, and people are jerks its not your fault..." she trailed off again she probably wasn't the one to give this talk having never received it herself. She smiled as he said a big change is about to happen in his life, it was true, and she was glad he saw it that way. She was about to tell him that but they arrived at the airport. Charlie sighed, she prayed the institute had given them 1st class, she didn't like to think she was spoiled but coach was...eh. She looked up at Angel.

"Ready to go Nephilim?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry too... But I'm not fussed about my dad. He's an ass... giving me away like that." Angel said, with a shrug. If he did ever meet his biological father, he'd be getting a punch in the face. Or maybe he'd get a shock, instead... Angel would show him how much of a freak he could be.

Listening to what Charlie said, he felt his heart go out to the poor lass. For him, it wasn't so bad, because he'd never had a family, never known what it was like. But to have known them and to have lost them... Well, if that had been Angel, he'd have most likely kept to the skies, away from everyone. He saw the swallow as Charlie looked away, the look of guilt that passed her face. Angel put two and two together, and realised what it meant. He understood what it was like to hurt people by losing control of your powers. It was never easy to get over, and when it was your own family... it would be almost impossible.

"I'm sorry, Charlie... even though that's not good enough, it's the only thing words can get across." He said, sincerely. "And like you said... some people can't control their powers when they first get them. I've... I've hurt people before, when I've lost control. I didn't get to see how badly they were hurt, because as soon as it happened I flew away.. but I still feel guilty about it. It's one of the reasons I try to stay away from people, and don't stay in a place for too long. I don't want to hurt anyone."

They stopped as they arrived at the airport, and Angel looked up at it. This would be the firt time he'd ever been on an aeroplane, and it was something he wasn't looking forwards to. But it would getthem to where they needed to go - Angel doubted he could fly all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. Water was something that was harder to fly over. Land, easy enough, you get your thermals coming up all the time. But water just sucked the heat in, it didn't really bounce off of it. It would be a hard few hours flapping, and Angel would no doubt run out of energy about a third of the way across and go down.... So it looked like a plane was the only solution.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Blast." Angerl said, deciding to give Charlie her own nickname. Besides, with her ability, it seemed to fit. Though he wondered what else she could do. She'd not yet seen everything he could do, but then again, he himself hadn't. It was one of the reasons he was going to school. That, the food and home...and the possibility of maybe making some friends. Something Angel had never had before.

((we could just end it here and be all 'Yay Angel is at the institute!' mainly cause I am being a bit lazy...))

((Okies, I'm fine with that *nodnod*))

((yay! Muchos Gracias senior! Mui Bien!))

((And now to think up Angel's arrival at the institute thread... hmm... I think I might make it in the sitting room. You should make a forum thingy at the school for the main gates/driveway/ where they first enter the school... the main hallway/reception))