Find Your Own Way Out

She sat atop the heater in the dark, dusty room, blending into the corner. She had pulled the shades down so no one could see her through the window, which was a plus for her and probably them. She didn't want to be made fun of and she didn't want her wings to get twisted and torn even more than they already were. They hadn't been bleeding much today, and she didn't want them to start.

Her single visible eye, the red one, gazed around the room. She had left the door open slightly so at least a little bit of light could poor in. Nariko had gone through four years of being in a dark room, and though she was used to it... she didn't want more of it.

The cat-eared child pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself, rocking back and forth slightly on the heater. She didn't exactly have friends to hang out with here...

Nariko's black ears twitched when she heard something. She faced the door and huddled deeper into the corner, hoping that it wasn't a person. Just some radio in another classroom, hopefully. However, footsteps soon reached the cat-like appendages and she whimpered slightly, hoping against all hope that they wouldn't come into the room she was in.

"Oh, hello!"

Her hopes didn't work out as she had planned. She was somewhat frozen as the other girl said hello, and Nariko wasn't quite sure of what to do. She wanted to say something, because she didn't want to get hurt if she didn't, but if she said something, then she had to have a conversation...

"H-Hello..." Nariko wound up replying, straightening up slightly. "Who are you?"

Nariko nodded slowly, the bangs that covered the left side of her face bobbing slightly. Her black, blind eye couldn't be seen though, since it blended well with her hair. She watched as Dani came closer and tensed slightly until she sat on the desk. Hopefully she wouldn't fall and blame it on her...

"I... I'm Nariko," she said, her voice still very quiet. "I'm... not bored... I came here to get away from everyone..." She looked away and fidgeted slightly before turning back to Dani. "So, um... how long have you been here?"

Nariko nodded slightly at the answer she was given. She wondered why this girl hadn't been freaked out by her eyes or her extremely broken, mangled wings. Not to mention her grayish skin tone... there were no questions, no odd stares... nothing.

"Are you sure you don't mind that I'm here?" Nariko asked quietly. "I mean, you want to sing, right?" She shifted slightly, feeling a bit awkward as she always did when around someone else.

Nariko listened as Dani sang, but as soon as that hand was laid on her shoulder, the young woman flinched. She swallowed, trembling slightly and looking down. Her shoulder was close to her wing... oh, well, it was best to get it over with. Just a few yanks, twists, and hopefully she would leave.

There was obviously something wrong with the seventeen-year-old. Whether or not Dani could pin it on abuse was unknown to Nariko though.

When asked if she wanted to go to the hospital wing, the girl just shook her head. "They can bandage the wings all they want, but they won't heal," she said quietly. "It's permanent... so what's the use of trying?"