NightinKites

Chapter 1: Factions

Reddoons was feeling good. He'd made a friend already! He smiled as he listened to Apo rave about how awesome Kites were. He'd join the Kite faction with Apo, and they would live together, and everything would be amazing. Apo's enthusiasm about the faction made Reddoons feel excited, too. Reddoons turned to see who else was there.

A Kite flaring her wings caught his attention. "Ahoy there," she growled, waving her sword.

Reddoons pointed to her. "You're a Kite," he astutely observed.

"Yep, that's me," she declared, throwing out her chest and twirling the blade.

Reddoons paused a moment before asking, "So what're Kites all about?"

"Glory and battle," she responded without missing a beat. "I'm Bek. Who are you?"

"Huh. Me? Oh, I'm Reddoons." Reddoons turned, distracted. While he had been talking to Bek, his new friend Apo had disappeared.

"Are you going to sign up for a faction today?" Bek asked, stepping in front of Reddoons.

Reddoons blinked, then looked down at the fearsome Kite. "...Yeah?"

"You should join Kites!"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Reddoons admitted, giving up his search.

Bek grinned, and Reddoons felt like he'd made two friends. "Follow me! I know where you can get signed up."

Reddoons hurried to the guild hall to sign up. He had no hesitation. "Kites all the way," Reddoons thought as he signed. "I'll already be with two friends."

Outside the guild hall, Bek watched Red's wings come in. "I thought it would be painful," Red observed, "but it wasn't."

Bek grinned, jumping between a fence post and a rock. "That's because we're kites," she bragged. "We don't feel pain. You'll make a great kite."

Reddoons stretched out his Kite wings, the juvenile markings already fading. His four sleek wings were powerful, made for maneuverability. "Kites are awesome," he said to Bek. "I'm glad we're friends."

"I don't need friends," she responded, sounding distracted. "I'm a kite. Kites don't need anything. That's why we're such great fighters."

Red shivered. "Oh. Okay." He decided to look for Apo. Finally, Reddoons spotted him near the docks. Apo hopped over the fence down to the docks, nightingale wings fluttering. Reddoons blinked. He rubbed his eyes. His second pair of wings shifted uncomfortably. Apo was a Kite, though? Reddoons pulled an apple out of his pocket. He looked at it. He looked at Apo and wondered why. Reddoons carefully did not wonder why it hurt him so much. He wasn't hurt. He was a Kite. Kites didn't feel pain. That's what made them such great fighters. That's what Bek had said.

"Apo," Reddoons called, waving his friend over.

Apo grinned. "Hey Redd, looking good."

"Hey," Reddoons echoed. Reddoons barely registered that Apo was looking at his wings. He needed to know something. How could he find out, though? Something to exchange... Reddoons held out the apple. "Here. It's an apple, kinda like you. Apple. Apo."

Apo took it, a puzzled expression on his face. "Um, thanks I guess."

Reddoons didn't notice Apo's confusion, or his slight hesitation, or the way he self consciously tucked his tiny wings in so they were almost invisible, unlike any other Nightingale. "Why aren't you a Kite?" Reddoons burst out.

"Oh, I..." a look of pain flitted across Apo's features that mirrored Redd's own emotions.

'Betrayal,' Reddoons thought as he took a step back. 'You can't trust people to do what they say they will.' He was glad he kept his face covered. "It's fine," Reddoons drawled, too loudly. "You missed out on the best faction." But Reddoons wasn't sure he believed himself as he turned his back to Apo and walked away. He ignored Apo's calls. His first friend had betrayed him. Redd's eyes watered, but he blinked away the tears before they could escape. Reddoons wasn't alone... he had Bek and the other Kites.