Kiden ambled along the winding sidewalk, walking a good fifteen feet behind the girl. He could hear the sniggers of the other Shades as they hovered a little ways behind him and rolled his eyes. This joke wasn’t even a funny one, so he wasn’t really sure why they were so excited about it. Then again, most of his pranks weren’t very good anymore; not since Amy. He shook his head, pushing her out of his mind. Up ahead, the girl he was tailing stood at a stoplight.
Kiden saw his chance.
The other Shades did too, because they all swooped behind a building and put on their façades. They walked back out, completely visible to the human girl, and stood near her at the stoplight. Kiden could tell she was flustered to be suddenly surrounded by five attractive young men. She kept looking down at her feet and picking at her clothes self-consciously. The Shades began to flirt with her, and one of them signaled to Kiden with a brief glance.
Kiden stretched out his long ebony wings and approached the girl from behind. When he felt he was positioned just right, he began rapidly beating his wings at an angle, causing a strong gust of wind. With a little help from his air magic, the wind pushed the girl’s skirt up before she could catch it. The other Shades laughed cruelly as the girl ran off with tears in her eyes, completely humiliated. They dropped their façades and surrounded Kiden, slapping him on the back in a congratulatory manner.
However, Kiden didn’t share their enthusiasm for the prank. His bright green eyes followed the girl as she disappeared around the corner. He couldn’t help the memories of Amy flitting through his mind. He winced and brushed off the other Shades’ attention, spreading out his wings to force them away. He pushed down strongly, generating lift, and took off. He wanted to be alone for a while.
Kiden made his way to one of his preferred spots in the city: the top of a skyscraper. He enjoyed the spectacular view and the feel of the wind blowing through his hair. Above all, he loved how isolated it was. He grew tired of always putting on a happy face in front of the other Shades. He wasn’t depressed or antisocial or anything, he just needed time to himself occasionally. Time to think.
Kiden swooped down on the skyscraper and folded his wings. His feet were near the edge of the roof, so he felt a wave of vertigo when he looked down. The wind buffeted him this way and that, causing him to sway slightly. It was glorious. He spread his arms and took a deep breath.
You know what; what the Hell.
He leaned forward and dropped off the edge. His stomach flipped and the wind ripped through his clothes and silver hair. Kiden plummeted downward and let out a holler of pure elation, snapping his wings open at the last possible second and gliding back upward off of his built up momentum. He weaved between the tall city buildings, laughing ecstatically at the confused humans who felt the surge of air as he flew past them.
When he reached the beach, Kiden tilted his wings and turned back to the city. He planned to fly back to the skyscraper and repeat the dive. He was ducking between buildings again when suddenly, a cloud blocked out the sun and a shadow was cast over him. At first he thought nothing of it, but then he remembered that it was a clear sky today.
Kiden peered over his shoulder to see a large shadow rapidly descending on him. He couldn’t make out its features because of how it was positioned against the sun. Panicking, Kiden drifted lower to the ground and flew into a neighborhood, dodging between houses in the hopes of losing his tail. He flapped his wings quickly and caused a couple of black feathers to come loose and float to the ground. Risking a brief glance back, he saw that his stalker had vanished.
He dropped to the ground, heart racing from the adrenaline burst, and examined the houses around him for any sign of the shadow. Nothing.
"What’cha doin’, Kide?"
Kiden startled at the unexpected voice. He whipped around to face a small male Shade who was looking up at him with wide eyes. He was about 5'3" with golden hair and wings. He had red eyes and honey brown skin that was peppered with dark spots. Two antlers poked out from the top of his head. Kiden rolled his eyes. It was Lucius, one of the more annoying Shades that followed him around. He eyed the small Shade skeptically.
"Were you chasing me?" Kiden asked.
"What do you mean?" Lucius cocked his head in that irritatingly clueless manner he had. "I just saw you flying and thought you were up to something fun."
Kiden snorted. So it was him. He was frustrated with himself for getting so worried before over nothing. He turned away from the Shade and walked off, ignoring Lucius’s further questions. The kid would probably follow him anyway. He sighed.
So much for getting some alone time…