Birds of a Feather

ten

The flight was relaxing, whatever had come over me at my impromptu press conference had left me in a state of placidity. The calm of flying was probably something to factor in as well.
I took a slight glance to my right, where Kace was. His wings were large and commanded respect. He was beautiful yet menacing. In my gaze, I realized this was the first time I had seen him in true daylight. What was beautiful in dusk became shockingly more so in the sun. His hair was moving erratically in the wind, but it was also like water in a river.
I had to catch myself from staring any longer, and I averted my sight forward. Just in time too, because I had almost overshot my house in my reverie.
"Let's land here," I yelled over the wind.
Kace nodded his head in understanding, and we started to lose altitude. There were a few of my neighbors out and about, some of which were looking to the sky and pointing. I rolled my eyes inwardly as my feet made soft contact with the ground.
"My humble abode," I gestured to my house. It wasn't extraordinarily large or small, it was just a normal looking house in a normal looking neighborhood. Perfect hang out spot for your normal neighborhood bird kids.
Kace followed me up to my front door, which I used my key to open. In a stark contrast to the staleness of the hospital, my house smelled of lemons and cinnamon. As soon as my eyes took in what lay before me, my heart skipped a beat in my chest. It was yet another reminder of how long I'd been gone for. A few pieces of furniture had been moved around, in a new way I wasn't used to. But most of all, upon entering my room - which the last time I had been in it had been extremely messy and cluttered- was excruciatingly clean. It was as if someone had come in and acid washed the entire premise, folded all my clothes, and licked the surfaces clean for good measure. In a corner, there were some odds and ends; things that didn't belong in my room but that ended up there over time with no other good place to put them.
I allowed my mind very little time to process or to fully feel the weight of the passage of time. I didn't want Kace to catch me out of sorts. Speaking of, he was quietly taking in his surroundings. He began to riffle through the books on my shelves, and ran his fingers along the strings of one of my basses.
"That's not how it's done," I teased.
He shrugged. "I dunno, I thought it was great. Let me see you do better." He raised his eyebrow and the corner of his mouth tugged upwards into a smirk.
"I'll take up that challenge," I grabbed my bass in my hand, the first time I'd felt like the true me- the old me- since I'd woken up. My fingers did the work before my brain could even process what I was playing. I began slapping out some riffs, ones that I'd made up on the spot. My index finger plucking out some driving beats and funky rhythms. I was feeling especially keen on my creation and started to scat over the top of it, creating a funky jazz-type beat.
Kace had his eyes closed while he bopped his head and tapped his foot, his face was almost that of a grimace. But it was in a way that said, Fuck yes that goes hard. This made me grin, and I decided I had made my point.
"Damn Dylan, you don't mess around!" he complimented. "But you didn't tell me you could sing sing!"
I laughed, not really ever sure what to say when someone complimented my musical prowess. So I went with my usual response which was just a simple 'Thanks"
"No seriously, you got something special. And I'm not just saying that. How aren't you like a famous artist yet?"
This was the usual response I received. I shrugged. In fact, I had been trying for years to get my music noticed, and to eventually get signed and make a record. I would have loved nothing more than to perform and make music for a living. However, this was easier said than done. The music business was one big machine that I had only scraped the surface of understanding. "It's harder than it looks, but I sure as hell am trying,"
There was a beat, "Dylan." Kace spoke as if he had just had a eureka moment.
"Yeah?" I tried not to let on how very intrigued I was.
"So, you've got like thousands of Instagram followers now, right? And like, a ton of fame from all this winged girl stuff, yeah?" he questioned me.
As the words left his mouth, I could already piece together where this was going. And I already didn't like it. But I nodded my head slowly, just to see where he would take it.
"Okay, think about it. You've been given a huge platform, now use it. You have the people, you just gotta make them hear you,"
He took it exactly where I thought he would. "I hear you, and it's definitely come to mind. My bandmates have said the same thing. But I just feel like if my music is to become successful I want it to be because my music's good. Not because I can fly or shoot fire from my hands."
Kace looked as if he'd put his finger in an electrical socket for how excited he was. "I hear you, but if you don't do anything with this... this gift, your chance will have come and gone. Show them you're not just the naked winged freak. Show them you can fly, but you can sing too. Get your coin mama, consider me your manager." His grin was so wide, and I had to admit he did make a point. However, as musicians are with their art, I was stubborn.
"We'll see,"
As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard the garage open and my dad's car grumble its way into the garage. Shit. I really didn't think this through. Kace and I made frantic eye contact. I looked around hurriedly trying to figure out what I should do. Obviously I couldn't simply introduce him to my dad. Kace had the whole "undercover" thing going for him. He couldn't just waltz out any door in my house before my family walked into the house. I looked at my closet door, and then looked to Kace.
"Seriously?" he groaned.
"Yes, now shh!" I hurried him into the closet which was a lot more cluttered with miscellaneous objects than I'd remembered. He slightly tripped over one of Rachel's old dollhouses as I heard the entrance of my family.
"Dylan!" Jenna screamed. "Are you here?"
My whole body jolted, I gave Kace a wordless look of I'm sorry and walked out of my room as if I had just had a mini panic attack.