Tempest crouched in the shadows between buildings. Her black wings stood out a bit too much in the clear blue sky for careless daytime flying. Her javelin was tucked securely between her shoulder blade and her feathers in a leather loop as old as the artifacts in the building she hunched beside. The weapon would outlive her yet.
She grumbled, her faint welling of pride wiped away by the feel of strange human clothes against her skin. Gale had lovingly insisted she leave her leather armor behind. Where, Tempest had no clue. She had snorted at him. Sometimes she swore he had become more human than Avi. She pressed her palm against her chest, feeling the comforting weight of her armor beneath.
Tempest had stolen some of the useless clothing to wear anyways. She'd learned over the centuries to heed his commands. Gale probably knew something she didn't. The soft fabric clung to her in all the wrong places. She'd ruined three of the top pieces by catching them on her horns before she could get the movements right. Still, small holes marred the dark garment, and she'd had to rip open the whole back to make it fit properly around her wings. The bottom half was simpler. They'd had holes in them before she started.
Humans were much more dumb than she thought if they fell for this stupid disguise. Her horns gave it away. Tempest rolled her eyes. Those, and the midnight wings peeking over her shoulders.
A human holding the paw of her youngling exited the building. Tempest flattened herself against the wall, making herself small. She didn't need to bother. The two strolled to their car, the little one skipping around the mother. They didn't even look around them before they pulled out of the lot. It was a marvel humanity had survived this long.
The wildlife around her stilled, the humid air around halting in its tracks. Tempest sighed. Gale loved his dramatic entrances. A car the color of a stormy sky whipped around the corner and paused in front of her. It sat low to the ground, sleek like a fish. The glass was tinted too dark to see inside. A window rolled down and Gale smiled at her, one hand on the wheel. Dark glass covered his eyes too. "Climb in back, sis."
Tempest scanned her surroundings, her wind sense sweeping for any stray humans her brother could have missed. Gale sat patiently, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. She approached the car door cautiously, her feathers ruffled into spikes. Gale clicked his tongue, and the car gave a jerk as he stepped out, opening the door for her. He gave a small curtsy, and Tempest was tempted to smack it off his smug face.
She climbed into the backseat, tucking her wings in tight to herself. Her wingtips brushed the covered seats and the fuzzy roof of the car anyways, and she had to sit so far forward her nose was inches from the front seats. "I hope this is a short drive," she growled, sliding to the far window.
Gale slammed the door shut, laughing under his breath when Tempest jumped. These kind of older brother shenanigans tire real fast when you only have a few seconds on me, she thought to herself, her scowl etched deep into her face. He slid back into the car, and it surged into motion as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"It's not too far," he reassured her, not looking away from the road.
~~~
Summer sank into oblivion for a time, her body both something and nothing at the same time. She thought little, her mind blank as a flickering light appeared in the distance, steadily growing closer.
The torch brought the ground to light, leaves crinkling under her littlest sister's feet as she approached. Whirlwind's expression was downcast, like someone had told her she couldn't fly in the rain. Summer's feathers ruffled, her body growing hot with anger. Whoever had made her upset would pay.
The light spread over Summer. Whirlwind circled her, revealing the restraints pulling tight against a sparking-pole. Summer struggled, unable to move even an inch. Her breath caught in her throat as Whirlwind dragged talons among grey feathers. Heat spread across the delicate muscles.
"I know what you did." Sad words dropped like stones to the ground. Summer watched as her other siblings gathered at the edge of the torchlight. She opened her mouth to speak, only to find her teeth stuck together and her tongue parched. She whimpered pitifully.
"You're worse than the humans." Whirlwind's voice was edged like a blade. She touched the flame to Summer's wings, and impossibly, the metal lit like parchment. Flames spread and consumed everything they touched, ravenous and yet not satisfied.
Summer screamed through her teeth. She heard as her wings fell in burning pieces to the floor. Agony rippled through her from wingtip to wingtip. Whirlwind reappeared in front of her, silver wings reflecting the brilliant orange flames.
Silver. Summer blinked. Silver feathers. Whirlwind had gold.
When she blinked for the third time, she realized she was staring at herself.
Her double smiled with wicked fangs, a dying torch held between pristine talons.