The Turn of a Feather

Chapter 1

                          
A/N: Okay, welcome to my story! It's the first one I've ever written so I hope it's good. Warning, there will be graphic violence and blood, particularly in this chapter, as well as a whole lotta bad language, because this is Lovino we're talking about here. There's also animal abuse, because I hate these antagonists and poachers in general, plus it seems like just the kind of shit-headed thing they would do. Other than that, I hope you enjoy my story!
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The trees raced past Lovino as he swung between them at breakneck speed. He tucked his wings close to shoot through two branches, yelping as his avian limb rammed into a jagged bough. A curse left Lovino's mouth as the ground raced up to meet him and he hit the leaves hard, knocking the breath from his lungs.

He lay for a moment, his chest heaving in an effort to take in air. His uneven breaths misted in front of him as they finally slowed.

The young man sat up painfully, the dead undergrowth crackling like gunshots underneath him, as he assessed the damage to his wings.

"Shit! Those damn bastards, I'll kill them!" Lovino muttered to himself; it was clear that he wouldn't be flying anytime soon. The baying of hunting dogs not even two miles off startled the angel to his feet, and he immediately tucked in his wings and began to run. However, both Lovino and the hunters that chased him knew that he had no chance of outrunning them.

He barely made it a mile before the hunters caught up with him. Lovino's feathered load weighed him down and the hunters' motor bikes sped them across the land at twice the rate at which he could fly, let alone run.

Lovino heard the whoops of victory behind him as the men surrounded the clearing he had been chased into. "Don't let the dogs get 'im, we don't want the prize damaged! Damnit, do you hear me, control the fucking dogs!"

Lovino turned in circles, trying to keep an eye on all the men at once. Some of them grabbed their mutts and hooked them onto leashes, but one particularly savage animal leaped from its master's hold and attacked Lovino. He yelled as the beast's teeth drove into his leg, latching on tightly. The hunter that was obviously in charge cursed with intensity that rivaled the young angel's own as he yanked the dog down and struck it, eliciting a sharp yelp and a whine as the animal sulked back to its owner with its tail between its legs.

Lovino remained on the ground, unable to get up through the pain that lanced up his thigh. His breathing grew shakier and more erratic as the man came nearer, holding a large, serrated hunting knife in one hand. A mad glint was reflected in the poacher's soulless eyes, causing a shiver to run up the base of Lovino's spine.

"You'd better fucking get away from me if you know what's good for you, bastardo!" He snarled.

The man smirked at the boy's obvious bluff and stepped on his hurt leg, causing a scream to tear itself from his mouth. The man who had captured him laughed. "Thought you could get away, huh? We've been tracking you for a long time, and we're not about to let such a valuable, rare prize such as yourself escape. Hell, most people don't even believe your kind exist! Everyone will know of me: the man who discovered angels!"

Angels? He thought. What had this guy been smoking?

He might have laughed if he weren't in so much pain. Technically, he supposed the man was right about the whole 'angels' thing, but the legends that had been based off of his kind were romanticized and far from the truth.

Lovino was not one of the spirits or magical beings that his winged species were generally portrayed as; he wasn't sure whether or not that kind even existed. His was simply part of a people that kept to itself and avoided human contact. Until now, at least.