Rin was still trying to think of a way to avoid getting killed by the hunters when they got back to the Hunters Base.

It was a large warehouse. Rin saw other Unusuals in cages as they passed, rolling him in a cage on a cart through the building. Desperate pleas, cries for help, deep heart-wrenching sobs, and someone murmuring that they wanted their mom could all be heard as Rin's panic grew worse and worse.

It couldn't end like this! He still had so much more life to live! He still wanted to explore more of the world, to fly around the planet and see the sunset from every country. To find someone who loved him, to have a family, to have a home. To be happy with himself like he never had been all his life.

These wings were the only things he liked about himself. These wings were a gift. They were previous and could've been anyone's, but they were his. They were meant to be free, just like he was. They were meant to be strong and protect, just like he was.

They were meant to be alive, just like he was.

§~•~§~•~§

He sat on a stone cold floor, grooming his feathers. They'd thrown him in a cell and chained his left ankle to the wall.

"You're lucky." One if the hunters had said in a gravelly voice. "There are a few Freaks to be executed before you, so you've got a bit o' time, I'd say." Then the man had walked away laughing, sounding like a chain smoker who'd received a baseball bat to the stomach.

He tried summoning the fire from the oil lamps across from his cell, but there must have been something on the chain around his ankle or his cell that stopped him from using his Nature Talent. His Talent was fire. He could take regular fire and it would do what he told it. One weird thing about his power was that the fire always turned blue when he controlled it. It was an unfortunate giveaway.

Life was going to end soon.

§~•~§~•~§

"Hey, you! Bird guy!" A voice woke him up from a fitful sleep he didn't remember falling into. He'd been dreaming of his less-than-pleasant childhood again, something he hadn't dreamed of in a long time.

"Oh good, you're awake!" The voice said. Rin looked at the bars of his cell and saw a guy his age crouching there. He had bright pink hair and caramel eyes. He looked friendly.

Of course, he was obviously a Hunter since he was here of all places, so he couldn't be that nice.... "Your wings are beautiful. What bird are they from?" The boy wondered, smiling. Rin gave him the finger and turned around so his filthy white wings were facing the teen. "Aw come on. No one is ever going to know if you don't tell before they end you." The guy reasoned. It was a harsh thing to say, but it was true. Most bird Unusuals had hair the same color as their wings. But Rin's hair was inky black and his winger were pure white. They were soaring wings-wide and long and a large amount of feathers. The feathers went from small and short to long and wide the further they got from his back.

"....Eagle." Rin mumbled quietly. "No way! Those are super rare! But your wings are all white, how can you be an eagle?" The boy tilted his head to the side, confused. Rin didn't answer. He hated everything about his origins and he'd be damned if he let anyone know where or who he came from. He'd take that information to his grave-which didn't seem to be very far away.

"He's an albino, you dolt! He colored his hair to throw people off." An older man snapped at the teen. Rin flinched. "Oh! Interesting." The boy gasped. "Shima, don't make friends with him. Hell be dead in a short time. All you're supposed to do is watch these two. They're troublesome." The man growled. "Yes, Paladin Fujimoto." The guy-Shima-murmured, like a child who'd been scolded.

The older man walked away and Shima sighed. "Who else is here?" Rin demanded, getting as close as he could to the bars. The best he could do was reach only half his arm out of the front right corner orlf the cell through the bars. "Me. Those bastards ambushed me." A girl's snippy voice answered. Rin strained to see through his own bars into the one next to him.

A pale girl with deep red eyes and long, straight purple hair sat facing him. She was slim enough to fit her head through bars and surgery him. "Huh. We were the last ones on their Kill list. They've caught everyone else and put them down. I guess we both ran out of luck, huh?" She said softly. Rin's wings dropped and he nodded. Fluffy white ears poked up from the girl's head and Rin saw a tail-no multiple tails-swish around through the bars, then back into the cell.

"You...you're.....like me?" He wondered. She nodded. "Yes. I got these from.my mother. She was a very strong Fox Unusual. We lived at a shrine we took care of, but they took her and she was killed just last year from all of the experimentation done on her body over the years. My little sister was taken in by humans and raised as one of their own. She doesn't have these traitsz thankfully." The girl explained.

"I'm sorry. It must be lonely for you." Rin apologized. The girl shook her head. "I got by on my own in the wild. Avoided these bastards for a good while before they caught me. Came in two days ago." She glowered at Shima. "Now, now, Miss Izumo. I'm not the one that caught you. I'm just here to watch you guys. You guys are the biggest troublemakers and I'm supposed to earn my new rank if I can successfully keep you contained and under control." Shima chuckled, putting his hands up in surrender.

"I'll curse you as they kill me." Izumo growled. "That's cruel Miss Izumo." Shima complained meekly. "Serves you right." Rin grumbled.

"Hey! Quit talkin and come with me, bird brat." A man demanded. He was tall, fair skinned, and had a haughty aur to him. His hair was long and golden blond and his eyes were dark blue. He wore some kind of rediculously white uniform dress thing. Rin snorted. "Geez, why am I getting killed? This guy's got worse fashion sense than Shiemi."

The man huffed angrily and Rin laughed. "Chill out, Showpony. I'm sure you'll get some carrots after I'm killed." He rolled his eyes. He received a slap to the face, but he took it like a man. "Oooh, I'm so big and powerful, I can slap a teenager half my age." He mocked, sticking his tongue out at the man, who yanked him along by his hair down a hallway. Rin whapped the guy on the back of the head with his wing in retaliation.

He was shoved into a room with tiled walls and floors. There were showerheads on the walls and a small crew of women with cleaning supplies and nothing on but bathing suits. Rin trued to run back out, hut the blond douchebag shut the door and locked it quickly.

Rin was pulled further into the bathroom by the women and cleaned vigorously. They put something in his hair that took the black coloring out and had to hold him down while they removed the films over his eyes. See, to hide from hunters, Unusuals had developed disguise methods. Dying their hair, co tavys that stayed in for long periods of time and could be slept in, even dye for feathers and tails. Dyes for skin to make it look normal for those who had traits with strange skin colors. Rin refused to dye his wings, but usually, the hair dye and contact lenses were enough to fool people into thinking he was some sort of heron.

Rin's real hair was a stark white that almost looked blue. His eyes were bright and luminescent like mosthybrid bird Unusuals. His mother had been a peacock and his father had been an albino eagle. Eagles themselves were already rare, but albino eagles? They'd never been seen before Rin's father.

Unfortunately, Rin's father had gotten into his head that he should be ruling the world because he was strong and special. Then Rin's mother had fallen for him after getting turned down by none other than Shiro Fujimoto-yes, the Paladin-and they'd had children.

Rin used to have a twin brother, but they were separated at birth. Yukio, the younger twin, was a peacock Unusual. He'd been raised by Fujimoto to work for the Hunters. Rin had met the guy once, and once was enough. The things that bastard had spewed out of his filthy, smartass little mouth were things Rin never wanted to hear again. He'd lived without Yukio for years perfectly fine before he ever knew he existed or met him and he lived without him just fine after meeting the asshole too. Pompous Prick Peacock.

Rin was made to put on a simple combination of a black cotton top and matching pants with simple black flats. The back of the shirt was cut away so his wings could be free.

"Hmm, black against the albinism makes you look like a death good, Older Brother." A contrmplative voice noted. Rin groaned internally. Yukio was standing in the hallway, glasses flashing and deep blue/green wings shimmering in the light. They were much smaller than Rin's and Yukio would never be able to fly. A small part of Rin felt relieved. Yukio couldn't tackle any other bird Unusuals out of the sky and send them to their doom.

Rin gave his standard greeting to Hunters and flipped his evil twin the bird.

The teen only sighed. "Really, you have no manners. Though I'm not surprised, since you grew up in such a dump. How's life been?" He talked like they were having a caual conversation. "It was great until I had to see those pathetic wings you're trying so hard to hide. Guess I got the better end of the deal, huh?" Rin smirked. This asshole would not degrade him in his final days. Not a damn chance.

Yukio's face of calm indifference morphed to one of disdain. It was an ugly expression. "And who's the one dying in a few days? I chose the right side. I would've cut these things off years ago if it wouldn't permanently damage my body. You ran and decided that running free wherever you want us a good way to live. You have no family, no job, and no house. You have nothing to be remembered by. It's sad, honestly." Yukio tried to make it sound as insulting as he could, but Rin was too busy snickering.

"Dude, how many sticks do you have up your ass? I'm living the life I wanna live. I was free. And people all over the world will remember me. They all used to watch me fly as high as I could go with these amazing wings. They watched me while I danced with fire at midnight during parties in the wild. Everyone knows my name. Can you say the same?" Rin taunted. Yukio's hand was cold when it slapped the same cheek the blond had.

"Ooh, look at me, I'm such a big boy because I can hit defenseless Unusuals and act like I'm not a traitor to my OWN KIND!" Rin ended with a shout. "Life was perfect without you. You'll never be like the rest of us. You'll never fly or hunt or party. You'll never love. A personality like yours isn't worth loving." Rin had never heard such venim in his own voice, but he was done being the nice guy who gave everyone everything and got nothing in return. If he was going to die, why should he care about what he said? He doesn't need to watch his mouth anymore, doesn't need to hold back.

So Rin rushed the peacock and grabbed his arm, pulling him down so Rin's knee met his stomach. He dropped to his hands and knees and puked his lunch. How attractive. Rin gave out a barrage of punches, kicks, and have to the other men. He ran back towards his cell where Izumo and shima would be. He made it to Izumo's cell and was ready to rip the steel bare out of place when he felt something hit both of his wings. Then, his nerves went haywire.

Tazers.

They tazed his wings!

He shook and shuddered until it stopped and he fell to the floor in front of shima, who stood with his bronze staff ready. "Lieutenant! I could've handled it, sir!" He saluted Yukio. "I know you could've, Shima. But I wanted to be the one to deal the punishment on him this time." The cold teenager walked away from the twitching body of his twin brother without even a glance back.

In his sleep, Rin cried.