Dedicated to @12MidnightBlue12
Phoenix was a name given to him by his mother. She's always loved that Mythical Bird, and while the name itself didn't stick, it did fit. His birth took his mother out of this world and while he felt it was his fault that she died, his sister would often tell him otherwise. Allergic to Bees and having a near-death experience, Phoenix was confined in the four corners of his bedroom walls, the furthest he could go was within the house, and he wasn't allowed outside unsupervised.
At the age of six was when he felt/saw the Boy in the mirrors. He was the most beautiful boy, his dark curls touched his neck, and he always had this little gold plate on one side of his head like a half-crown that never fell from his head. In his hands, was a bouquet of white roses. In the mirror, his eyes seemed to glow, they looked up at him with wonder and curiosity. They belonged to someone who didn't seem afraid, he didn't look angry. But as soon as he looked back down at the flowers they went out of sight and Phoenix could no longer see anything. He made sure to write that down in his series. It took another two weeks before the boy in the mirror returned and this time he didn't leave. As one who could feel people's Auras, Phoenix welcomed the boy and invited him into his bedroom. The boy left the mirror and stayed with him from then on and whenever he was out on the streets, he could see the Boy following on every transparent surface.
His River, The Ghost In The Mirrors.
With a new name and new life, Nathan must learn to fit in at an Academy of the Feral Investigation Bureau, or risk being sent back to prison.
*****
Escaping prison was only the beginning for inmate C41. Now on the run and going by Nathan, he's enrolled in an American Academy for training agents and joins the Feral Investigation Bureau, charged with hunting down criminals and sending them to the same place he just escaped. But after learning how blurred the distinction is between feral and non-feral, Nathan is forced to flee with his sister and his boyfriend, only to discover their safe house hides a secret that might cost Nathan his freedom.
Content and/or Trigger Warning: sex and violence. [Note: failed suicide attempt]
[[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]]