There it was.
Right in front of him.

The hustle and bustle of shoppers plucking things off the shelves and the sound of items being shoved in plastic bags filled the air. Behind the counter one of the employees backed into a rack of batteries, sending them flying to the floor. Offering a quick apology to the current customers he was checking out, he bent down to clean up.

Cody shoved his hands into the pockets of his light green button-up jacket, more to look inconspicuous then to be comfortable. Though trying not to, his gaze occasionally wandered over to a certain computer game laying on the shelf a few feet away from him. His patience thinning, he picked the game up and studied the back of it, all the while waiting for the few people in his aisle to move away.

To his left, a mother stood observing cleaning supplies while her two small children succeeded in making as much noise as humanly possible. The youngest one, a brown haired girl, started yanking toys off their hooks, her hand was smacked by her mom, and they moved on.

Cody, his face passive, quickly shoved the small package into a bag he had from another store, and proceeded to rush out to the main part of the mall, wary of curious eyes.

Grinning, and happy with himself, he waited until he was sure no one was looking at him before opening the bag back up and taking out his prize. Glancing nonchalantly at the price tag, he congratulated himself on saving 30 dollars. He slouched back in the mall bench he was seated in, continuing to read where he left off on the back of the box.

Shad was in the mall for the warmth and comfort it seemed to provide. Warmth was all he wanted, except that minor detail of wanting his broken wing to just magically heal. The pain was killing him.

Currently, he is dressed like always. Faded and baggy blue jeans, not sagging, his gray shirt with orange three quarter length sleeves, under a forest green fleece that could fit two of him. The shirt had a few slits in the back for his wings to peak out of, but the fleecie fit right over. Over painfully, he might add. The right wing had broken clean at the base, and normally hung limp and dragged on the ground behind him. He had, with much pain, tied it back and up, using his neck as the base for holding everything together. There is one other object tied around his neck: a leather cloak of knee length that covers every feather. This is what allows him to blend into life successfully. No prying eyes for him.

And he sat on a mall bench in the center of the mall, trying his hardest not to cry with the pain he was in. Trying his hardest to hide his small frame of four feet eleven inches into the bench, and just... Disappear.

After scanning the cover as well, he stood up and shoved the game back into his bag, starting to take off for the mall exit. His eyes wandered over to a troubled-looking boy sitting on another bench close to where his was, he paused suddenly, feeling uneasy, he fought the sudden urge to go over to him, though he wasn't a fan of talking to people he didn't know, especially after just stealing something from a store.

Against his better judgement, though, he gave himself over to his curiosity and sat down next to the guy that gave him the wierd vibes. Slouching back again, as if he didn't care (which he just as well didn't), he yawned, making himself at home next to the stranger.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked abruptly, lacking any consideration of his bench-neighbor's feelings.

Shad watched the boy. Boy about his age. He didn't smile. He didn't slouch, either. He was sitting right on the edge of the bench, tempted to lean back and rest to a more comfortable, and less healthy, posture, but knew that that would cause nothing but pain. No. This was fine. He eyed the boy, and blinked back any traces of tears.

"Nothing's wrong..."

His eyes tell a different story. Red and puffy. He could be high, but no, his pupils have the right amount of dialation. Shad wouldn't get high anyway. He's a goodie goodie. If he knew that game was stolen...

"Who are you...?"

Shifting himself slightly to face the stranger. Shifting slightly painfully.

Cody moved to the side about an inch, instinctively as Shad turned to face him. Wouldn't be a good idea to let him get too close. He might accidentaly brush against him or something.

He hesitated before answering back. "... name's Cody." he replied simply. "Not like it's any of your business anyway." He scoffed.

"So like, you look like shit, dude."

Shad blinked a few times. Still holding back tears. Letting his eyes try and clear themselves of red and puffy and pain. Not working.

"Mmmm... Well, Cody, you did come over here... Asking me a question that was none of your business... So now we are even."

Shad smirked. And nodded. He most likely looked like shit, yes. He hadn't slept in a couple days, he had a broken bone, and he hadn't been 'home' to change his clothes. Normally he flew home. Without that wing, he couldn't.

"Yeah... Feel like it, too. Dood."

For an extra sting of mockery, he hastily adds the last word.

Cody stood up.

"Hey, no need to get cocky, man. I was nice enough to ACKNOWLEDGE ya. Cause you do, actually, look like... worse then shit. So fine, be that way. Whatever."
he knew he started it, heck, he knew he was cocky first, but his personality wouldn't let him to admit that.

He picked his bag off the bench where he had previously laid it next to himself. "So, I'm gonna go home, play my game, and not be whiny and all ...tough at the same time... tough guy." he stuttered out the last words, feeling kind of pathetic and corny. But he started to walk away with dignity just the same, nearing the exit.

Two mall cops sauntered over nearby, one of them holding his walkie-talkie. A few scribbly sounds came out of it, he talked back, tapped his companion on the shoulder, and pointed to Cody. The other one nodded, and shouted out to him, "Hey! Kid! Stop!"

Cody froze, and turned around, his eyes widened as he saw the two cops running towards him, panicking, he raced outside.

"It's night." He reminded himself, running, "maybe I can lose them."

Shad was still smirking. He knew Cody knew he started it, but Shad let Cody think he knew nothing. He let the boy go, still smirking till he saw the cops. Then, the smirking smile died off. Slowly died into a frown, and Shad sprung up. And that hurt, but he did nothing to aknowledge the pain. He followed them all out into the cold night.

The cops were discussing which way the kid went. Shad stood near them, and let raptor inhanced eyes scan the sidewalks. A small, wet, half foot print gave off Cody. Shad sighed, and pulled his innocent facade one step up, speaking to the cops.

"Whadid Cody do?"

The cops told him that a store owner was checking out the surveilance camaras when he spotted the boy, Cody was his name?, stealing a game. And an expensive game at that. Shad nodded, and then sighed. He could lie. He could tell the truth. Shad never lied to authorities, but he felt torn. The cop was asking if Shad knew where he lived. Did he? Did he?

"Ummm... Yes... He... He lives over there."

One doubley painful tilt of the head to indicate the opposite way of Cody's fleeing. His wing hurt with the motion, and his concious hurt too. The cops thanked him, promised his friend wouldn't be in any really serious trouble, and left. And Shad sighed, starting down the street after Cody.


((Do you got AIM?))

(Yep, Dizzy the Freak
is my AIM screenname)


He sprinted behind a building, unusually fast, he had to be, kids loved to chase him down and beat him up at school.
He leaned forward, hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath as he glanced up and surveyed his surroundings.
"Please don't find me." he begged, getting thrown in juvie or something was the last thing he needed. "Pleeeease."

Shad smirked. He could hear Cody, and, through all the pain, he was laughing. The boy was very amusing. Shad made one very painful leap around the corner, and shouted Boo! But he didn't care what Cody might say about that.

"They aren't coming for you anymore. They went to opposite way... I covered for you. But you're lucky. You made the effort to see me off ok, so I returned the favor... Normally I hate your type. Theiving..."

He wasn't smirking. Actually, he was pulling a bit of a mother expression. Like the, 'You are grounded, young man' face, with a lot less love and a lot more disappointment. Oh, and he looks like shit. And feels like shit.

He stood up, shaken.
"I knew that." he retorted, brushing himself off. He made a 'pfh' sound.
"What? Now you're my savior or something? I coulda lost them myself."
His dignity now faltering, he turned around and started to head off, but stopped abruptly.
"Hey... do you know exactly which way they went? So I don't go that way?"

Shad thought of a guardian angel breifly, and smiled.

"Something like a savior, yea."

Course, this was a tease. The wings on his back were most definatly american kestrel. And he was most definatly not an angel. But he would follow this boy around, much like a guardian angel.

"They went the opposite way. On foot. Don't know where they were going. They'll give up soon enough. Just stay on this street and go straight for a while. Then go home. Or wherever."

Shad stood alongside the boy, smiling. He wasn't going to go. He'd needed to get to the conservation area anyway. He could heal his wing and everything else bad with him if he got there.

He tilted his head to the side a bit.
"So like, what's your name anyway?" He questioned him. "Not like I really care or anything but I don't have anything BETTER to do right now so..." he shut up quickly. Nice idiot babbling. He complimented himself sarcastically.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket again, lowering his head until he was staring at the dirt.

Shad smiled a bit, and started walking. Cody would follow. They both wanted one thing: to go that way. Away from the cops.

" 'm Shad. And you can drop the tough guy act. 'm not afraid of you, and I really find it annoying..."

Gutsy little kid. And he really isn't afraid. Right now he is thinking about whether the kid be unnish or innish. And he didn't want to know innish for sure by giving Cody a peek at his wings. That'd ruin the defining line. So he kept the cloak tight around him. No sneak peeks, pain or no pain.

"What tough guy act?" he snapped, catching up. "I AM tough."
He shot Shad a cocky grin before looking back down at the ground while walking.
"So like, you normally this friendly or am I just flattering?"
He kicked at a pebble on the ground in front of him, watching it roll to the side. A few strands of his hair fell in front of his eyes, shading them. He didn't neccesarily have long hair, just shaggy, not much longer then the middle of his ears. It looked unruly, he liked it that way.

Shad's hair was the same. Not long, but not short. Fell into his eyes and hung over his ears. He didn't bother buying a haircut. Just left the golden brown mess to be itself. One day, he would have to buy a haircut. That or sissors...

"Normally a nice guy. Parents have an influence on you, you know?"

He could help but thinking, Especially parents that were never there... He cover that thought with a smirking smile, but there was a genuine sense in it as well. He kicked the pebble Cody had just kicked, and continued.

"I always thought that if I was an angel, maybe my dad would be proud of me. If I succeeded. If I did everything right. If I was the nice guy who helped old ladies cross the street. So, while I preformed all that like a puppet for my dad, it kinda... Stuck."

He smiled. And his left wing ruffled contently. His right one sent a shot of pain through him. He couldn't hold down the grimace.

Shade hesitated again. "Nah. Seriously. What the heck is wrong with you?" he asked, dead serious. His cold blue eyes locked on the boy.

"You like, hurt somewhere or something? Cause you're acting like it, I can tell." he paused. "Where are ya hurt?"

Shad blinked back the grimace, the tears that might have come, the pain. He just blinked it back. But he didn't respond to Cody. He couldn't. That would mean having to lie. And he didn't like lying. And he didn't want to take the chance of initiating an uninitiate, and that's what he'd do with revealing a broken, tied up, kestrel wing. So he kept walking and changed the subject.

"Yeah... I gotta get down to the conservation area. You heading that way?"

"I dunno." he shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere, really." he felt his eyes lower to the small digital clock on his wrist. "Can't believe it's only 6 and it's dark. I hate winter."

He looked upwards, his eyes scanning over the sky. "Sucks that it's cold, too."

Shad nodded. Did suck that it was late, dark, and cold. He looked back at Cody, and questioned him.

"You aren't going home? Do you know where home is...?"

Shad scoffed, and kept walking.

"You are just going to keep folloing me until I get to the conservation area, and then try and get home or something...?"

Another small and forced laugh.

He shrugged, quiet, a cocky grin still plastered on his face.
"I'll do whatever I want to, dude."
He yawned, watching his breath smoke in the air in front of him, and shivered.

Shad shrugged. Well, then he could accompany Shad five miles to the conservation area. What did he care. He smiled and kept going, picking up the pace again. He'd be lucky to get there in two hours. And he'd be lucky to not be sobbing when he got there. The wing was killing him with every step, and too many steps, like walking five miles, was going to hurt like a bastard.

"Then keep my company. So... Cody... How old are you?"

Shad wanted to know if her looked around his age, or if he was around his age.

"14." He answered quickly, shrugging. "Act younger, though. I'm immature, blah blah blah." he yawned again.

"I'm only going to stick around because I'm bored and there's nothing else to do." he reminded him suddenly.

Shad shrugged.

"Whatever. Boredom makes it all the better."

He didn't share his own age. Only way to get a conversation going was when both parties were actively involved, so if Cody was active, he could ask.


((Getting shorter and shorter... Must be tired...))

((Just not creative today. XD ))

Cody picked his stare up from the ground, looking at Shad from the corner of his eyes, an odd look on his face suddenly. A look that almost seemed disgusted but wasn't, more unsure then that.

He gulped a bit, unconciously moving a few inches away from Shad's side as he walked forward. Though he smiled nervously to seem less freaked. People commonly got the wrong impression of Cody quickly.

Shad didn't notice. Just kept walking. The more walking, the sooner he could be out of pain. Pain that he was hiding well. Shad knew the wing was broken at the base, and knew that it was cleanly broken. Clean, as in one place of breakage. No shatterd bone. It was common for light boned people to break like that, with shattered bones. He was lucky that most of him was not light and bird like, though people said he was.

And while he was thinking this all over, he felt the rope snap. The part around his neck went limp, and fell away. Eyes show panic, and pain as an afterthought. The flight feathers catch on the back of his pants, and he is momentarily relieved. But this wouldn't do. He spotted an alley, turned his back from Cody, and backed into the alley.

"You know? I just realized... You should go..."

He is about in tears. The wing is awkwardly and painfully balanced. And he wanted to fix it... Oh how he wanted to fix it.