Paper Birds

A Warm Welcome

   Kitt hadn't even been within Avemirian borders for three hours and already she had had something thrown at her.

   A rock, she discovered, upon inspecting the projectile. Not necessarily unique, but she had been away for the better part of a year. Perhaps her friends were losing their touch.
She took the rock in her hand and dangled it over the ledge of her balcony. Her coat sleeve caught on the rusted rail as she leaned forward, the stone clasped between her fingers.

   "Lost something," she called. The alleyway echoed her words back to her. She watched the stone plummet, colliding noisily with the metal rails of her neighbors' balconies on its trip to the trash cans.

   She had almost lost sight of it in the gloom of the evening when its journey was stopped suddenly by an arm, which appeared from beneath one of rickety platforms across the alley. The stone and its captor recoiled for a moment. There was a creak of metal and a pair of legs appeared in place of the arm. A gangly body joined them and tediously began to haul themself up over the rails towards her.

   Kitt watched all of this with a grim smile on her face, and stepped back to allow the owner of the stone to swing themself over her balcony rail and kneel on the slats for a moment to catch their breath.

   "Avery," she greeted. "Your aim is still as terrible as it was when I left. About a foot off from my face."

    "Assuming that was what I was aiming for." the boy tilted his head back.

   "Unless you were intent on attacking my houseplants." Kitt replied, offering a hand to him. He took it, and she hauled him to his feet.

   "Still, a foot off three stories down and in the dark isn't that bad," Avery shrugged. He reached into his pocket and retrieved the stone. He held it out to her. "Welcome home." he grinned at her.

   She pocketed the stone, rolling her eyes. "Thanks," she said. "Who was my herald?"
"Stessa." Avery cocked his head. "She said she got a letter from you a week ago." he folded his arms and leaned against the railing, staring out across the city. "Is the Academy not treating you well?"

   Kitt joined him, running her hands over the cool metal bars. Flaking paint rubbed away under her fingers. She took a deep breath of the night air, her eyes wandering across the faded red rooftops, stained lilac in the evening. Her breath hissed between her teeth as she smiled. "Not for me, I think." she shook her head.

   "Figured as much." Avery shot her another crooked grin. "You should tell your sister you're here. She'll want to hear all about Caraway."

   "Caraway, Caraway," Kitt sighed, picking at the flaking paint. "From the few square miles and many square pictures that I saw at the Academy, it's honestly underwhelming."

   "Prefer Avemir still?"

   "You know where my loyalties lie."

   Avery snorted and moved his jaw from side to side. "But your sister..."

   "--probably already knows I'm here." Kitt pushed herself away from the balcony and moved to examine her plants. The once wide and voluptuous leaves had sunken in on themselves in the midsummer sun. "One of her neighborhood watch friends, I'd presume. They'd keep an eye out for someone like me."

   "They'd better have a lot of eyes, then," Avery tittered.

   "Sure," Kitt kicked him in the ankle. She pushed herself to her feet with a sigh and brushed her hands off. "The housekeepers haven't been in. I have dusting to do." she grinned. "Would you care to join me in the queen's reentrance of Palace Beautiful?"