Feather of the Raven

Chapter 1

"FALCON! Falcon, come down here, right now!"

Falcon Davis tossed and turned in bed. He shut his eyes tight and covered his ears with his pillow, but he couldn't block out his mother's shouting. If that wasn't bad enough, his phone wouldn't stop ringing. He had no doubt that it was his mother making a second attempt to get him up. She always did that whenever he would pretend to be asleep. There were no contacts in his phone other than his family, so it couldn't be anyone else.

"FALCON!" she shouted again

How long would she do this before leaving for work already? He didn't quite care if she was late; it would be her own fault. Nobody was stopping her from leaving. Falcon was sure that all she wanted was to tell him he was late for school. So what? Being late for school sounded like a blessing.

"Falcon..." a soft voice spoke, and a pair of tiny hands shook Falcon's shoulders. Falcon sighed and opened his eyes.

"What is it, Robin?"

Standing in front of him was Roibin; a boy so short that when Falcon stood, the boy's head barely reached Falcon's chest. His hands couldn't be seen as he ran them through his messy red hair because the sleeves of his oversized, gray coat were far too long. He wore a pair of white jeans that, even with his belt as tight as it would get, kept slowly slipping down his waist.

Robin was Falcon's youngest sibling. The boy had no clothes in his own size because they were all hand-me-downs from Falcon. The Davis family weren't exactly the richest people in town and affording clothes for four kids wasn't easy. Despite being fourteen, three years younger than Falcon, the two were in the same grade.

"Falcon, where's Crow?" Robin pushed up his large, round glasses and ran his hand through his hair again.

"Crow isn't here?" Falcon picked his phone up off the floor and hung it up. It was his mother calling him, just as he had expected.

"Don't tell me he's got himself in trouble again..." spoke a female voice.

A girl crawled from under Falcon's bed with a yawn. She had black hair with purple highlights, matching the dark colors of her Gothic Lolita dress. Her skin was so pale and her dark eyes so lifeless that she looked like a life-sized doll.

"Morning, Falcon." she rubbed her eyes. "Little Robin, you've got another hole in your coat." She placed a hand on Robin's shoulder and stuck her finger into a hole in the back of his coat. He shuddered at her touch, his eyes downcast.

Out of Falcon's three siblings, there was only one girl, Raven. Although she was nineteen, two years older than Falcon, she was still in high school, in the same grade as Falcon and Robin. She got held back a year, but it wasn't because she wasn't smart. In fact, she was a very clever young woman. She intentionally got herself held back so all four siblings could be in the same grade together.

Falcon, Robin, and Raven walked down the stairs together. The sight in the hallway was almost humorous. Their mother was dressed for work in her white button up shirt, black suit jacket, and matching knee-length skirt. She had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her expression was furious, and she had Falcon's older brother, Crow, grabbed by the ear.

Crow's face was red with embarrassment as she dragged him by the ear over to the other three. He was a tall, lean young man. At his full height he would have towered a foot above their mother, but he was on his knees. He had slick, oily black hair and wore all black leather. His eyes were glanced to the side to avoid eye contact with his siblings.

Crow was Raven's twin brother. Like the others, he was in the same grade as Falcon. He claimed he was intentionally held back just like Raven, but his grades suggested otherwise even this semester.