I slipped my hand from my sister's, looking up at her. She nodded, signalling for me to go ahead.
     We continued walking calmly, like we were up to nothing. The orphanage didn't give us an allowance, so for those of us who were too young to legally work, we had to pickpocket in order to get the money we needed to buy things we wanted. The orphanage supplied us with things we needed, but my sister and I used the money we stole to buy instruments and notebooks.
     Our target turned a corner, and I quietly ran forward to get just behind him. "Sir?" I asked. The man turned, looking down at me. "What d'you want?" He asked gruffly, unhappy. "Have you seen anyone with pink eyes around?" I asked. "Over there, now get lost." He said, pointing behind me.
     I glanced back, spotting my sister. "Thank you!" I said, forcing a grin and hugging him. As I did so, I pulled his wallet from his pocket with one hand, pushing it into the sleeve of my other hand.
     Before I could get to Jade, a strong hand grabbed my arm and pushed me into an alley. "You li'l bitch just stole my wallet." The man said, angry. I didn't know what to do, I'd never gotten caught before. "Didn't you?" I was shoved back, against the wall.
     My fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. But I couldn't run; he was blocking my way out, and Jade wasn't there yet. And I couldn't fight him, unless I figured out how to use the stupid ability I had, which I hated in the first place.
     The man's wallet fell from my sleeve, and he snatched it up, giving me almost enough time to get away, but a punch to my nose put a stop to my escape.
     I felt blood dripping from my nose, but I was still cornered. "Hey!" A voice called from the entrance to the alley. A blow was delivered into my gut, causing the wind to be knocked out of me, but the man still turned. "Don't you dare hurt my sister." The person said. If I had caught my breath, I would've let out a sigh of relief.
     "And what are you going to do about it?" The man asked. "Kira, run, I'll follow you in a minute." Jade said. At the same time, the man put his hands to his ears. I assumed he was experiencing the ringing in his ears I'd felt millions of times before.
     While he was distracted, I ran. But I wanted to make sure Jade was okay, so I kept looking at her even after I left the alley.
     The sudden drop from the curb to the street took me by surprise, causing me to fall. My legs and hands stung, and as I tried to stand up, something crashed into me.

     Everything hurt. Everything was black. My heartbeat was growing dim. These were the only things that I was immediately aware of.
     Distantly, I heard screaming. Crying. People panicking.
     What happened?
     Was I dying?
     My vision faded to white.

     "Azami! Azami! Watashi no moto ni modotte kite! Onegai!" I heard. The only person I knew who called me by my given name...or who even spoke the language I'd spoken before my parents left me...was Jade. "Kaede?" I asked, opening my eyes weakly.
     Before me was Kaede. I hadn't seen her cry in years, and there she was, crying in front of me. For me. Behind her was a blonde girl with brown eyes. She looked around my age, and her mother was trying to pull her away, but she was diligently fighting to stay by my side.
     Lights flashed. Loud sirens blared. They hurt my eyes and ears, but I focused on Jade so I didn't have to see them. "Azami!" My sister sobbed, pulling me close to her. I closed my eyes, leaning my head into her shoulder. I wasn't in pain anymore, that was a good thing. "Anata wa ikite iru!" She cried. "Yeah...I'm alive." I said. "What happened though?"
     "You were hit by a car." An unfamiliar voice said. I opened my eyes again, staring at the blonde girl, who was looking over at me from struggling out of her mother's grasp. "I was?" I asked. Some part of me had known, deep down. Because what else would be in the road? Well, other than a bus or a cargo truck, but those were still automobiles.
     "I healed you. Somehow." She replied, finally pulling away from her mother, who scolded her. Jade moved away from me then, wiping her tears with her blood-soaked sleeve. It took me a moment to see that there was no blood on the ground, but there were stains of blood on the clothes of my sister and I.
     "Thanks." I said. "No problem." The girl replied, smiling softly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what she did, but we need to go now." Her mother tried to pull her away, but Jade quickly caught the girl's hand. "How can I thank you? You saved my little sister's life."
     The mother paused. She looked frustrated. The girl shrugged. "I don't know. I wish I did." She said. "But you're welcome."
     Jade nodded slowly, letting go of the girl's hand. The girl's mother immediately pulled her away, into the crowd of still-shocked bystanders. There seemed to be an ambulance, with a team of rescue doctors. And the driver of the car which had hit me was standing near us as well.
     I wasn't sure why they weren't moving, but I saw a small blue glow from the shadows, which told me otherwise. "Let's go home." Jade murmured. I nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."

     "Where have you been?" Will asked as soon as we got home. Will was one of our caretakers. "And why are you bloody? What happened?" I glanced over at Jade's face, which was blank and void of emotion, like it was a lot of the time. "I got hit by a car." I deadpanned. "What the hell? Why are you walking around then? Are you okay?" He seemed to be all over the place.
     The commotion drew other kid's attentions too. 6 or 7 other kids came over, crowding around us. "I'm fine. I promise."
     "Then why are you two all bloody?"
     "I was healed."
     "How?!?"
     Morgan was drawn over too. She was another of the caretakers. Her face showed concern, but she also wanted to know the answer to Will's query, I could tell. "Magic." I said, shrugging. We were in the national capital of magic, so it should've made sense to them.
     "Don't be an idiot, magic doesn't exist!" One of the kids said. He was 11, my age. But he hated me. His name was Parker. Jade raised an eyebrow, snapping her fingers. Immediately, she was gone, and across the foyer. She snapped again, and was back by my side.
     Both of us hated the magic we were born with. After all, it was the reason our parents had left us on the side of the road to fend for ourselves. But when she needed to make a point, or she was defending herself from someone, Jade would use her magic. I didn't have mine under control, so I couldn't.

     I laid on my side, one arm under my head. Everyone else in the room was asleep, except for my sister and I. Kaede was going through songs and playing them quietly on her guitar. My thoughts were racing too fast for me to fall under.
     "Hey, Kaede?" I asked softly, turning over to look at her. She hummed softly in response, her hands pausing mid-strum. "Do you think our new mother is going to be nice?" I asked. Kaede looked at me, her gaze softening. "Azami, I don't know." She replied.
     The woman was going to adopt us had never shown her face. She'd called our caretakers, and met with them behind closed doors. Something had blocked my sister's magic, and she hadn't been able to tell what they were saying. We'd never seen her face, unlike the other people that tried to adopt us.
     Seeing the uncertainty and nervousness on my face, Kaede sighed and moved to put her guitar in it's case. "We can get out if anything goes wrong." She said. "I know, but..." I trailed off. "What if we can't? What if she has magic too?"
     My older sister shifted from a sitting position to lay down beside me, looking me in the eye. "No matter what, we stick together. And if we stick together we get out together, right?"
     I nodded slowly, smiling softly. "Right." Kaede smiled as well, and then lightly booped my nose. "Aishiteimasu." She murmured, closing her eyes. I let out a soft sigh, "I love you too."

***

     I sighed, staring at the ceiling of my room. As it turned out, Zinnia Amary, our new mother, was actually not bad. Sure, we'd fought with her a few times, but Jade and I could tell she had our best interests in mind. She treated us like we were her real children, and didn't frown on our magic.
     She was different, like us. Even though she was different in a different way. She had...a snake tail. And...scales. It was weird. But because she knew what it was like to be different, she didn't care how different we were.
     And she also had magic. When she showed us it, Jade and I had been amazed. And instantly, felt like we belonged. She had a snake-like magic, and she explained that she was the one who kept the crowd from us on the street, using a spell she learned.
     Zinnia seemed to want to be able to create the best place for us, and let us keep our instruments. She even got a few new ones for us. And as much as we hated our magic, she wanted to help us learn to control it.
     A soft knock on the door drew my attention. "Come in." I said. Zinnia opened the door softly, a cautious look in her yellow eyes. I shifted, sitting up. "I know I'm new to this...mother thing. And I understand you and your sister have been through a lot, but I have to ask..." She took a deep breath, and I noticed how her tail was curling around her right shin and ankle. "Am I doing a good job?"
     The fact she had the heart to ask changed my perspective of her that day.
     It showed she cared enough to ask. It showed she wasn't confident in her abilities as a mother, and that she wanted to know if she could be better. It was the first time I'd seen her completely...vulnerable. It was the moment I knew that she was different from anyone else who'd tried to adopt us. They had either been confident in their abilities as a parent because they had a child or were just cocky and had never had a child.
     "I think..." Zinnia held her breath. No, my mother held her breath. "You are." She smiled softly, and walked forward, about to hug me, before holding back. She looked hesitant, and then self-conscious. I hugged her. At first she stiffened, but she wrapped her arms around me, holding me close.
     My older sister and I had known her for a few days. We'd been closed off from her, for the most part, despite her efforts to try and make us more comfortable. So neither of us had hugged her or anything. Not even told her we loved her.
     Her tail lightly touched my arm as I pulled away, and I froze. Quickly, she pulled it away. "I'm sorry." She said. "I-it's okay." I replied, shaking my head. "Okay. Well, get some sleep, alright?" She asked as she stood up.
     "I will. Goodnight."
     "Goodnight."
     She was about to close the door when I stopped her, "Oh, and Mom?" I asked. My mother replied with a soft hum. "I love you." Her face broke into a smile.
     "I love you too, Kira."