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Meanwhile, not too far away...

The man waited patiently among the trees; he knew he would not have to wait much longer. He could hear the sound of cantering hoofs in the distance. They sounded strange, unlike a normal horse: the pattern seemed to miss a beat every other step. He, however, used this unique trait to decipher identity; friend or foe was a crucial difference if one intended to live in the way he did.

The pattern was closer now, and the steady beat slowed to an occasional, comforting thump under his feet. At last, an adult woman pressed between the foliage. She was obviously very tall, long, and elegantly built. Her face held the same long quality of her structure; her wide-set eyes, however, lent her a timidity and awkwardness. Her coarse hair was down and obscured her face enough to add to her shy and skittish air.

"Arctos?" Her voice was breathy, but seemed to come somewhere deep within her chest.

The man stepped away from the trunk that he had been waiting on. "Nightmare. You found him?"

At the sound of his deep, throaty voice, she seemed to calm somewhat. Nightmare stepped out into a small clearing, her strong legs working with a slightly more confident stride. Her hoofed feet carefully picked their way through the forest floor. "Arctos. The school already found the children. They are under the care of the teachers now."

"Children? As in more than one?" Arctos stood a little straighter; he was alert now.

Nightmare hesitated, as if afraid that she had somehow upset his calm mood. She pawed anxiously at the dirt. "Yes... more than one." She shook her hair about her face, further displaying her nervousness. "The boy is definitely more of a show than the girl, but...."

"...But?"

"I have my doubts. Sir."

"Oh?."

"Yes. The girl... I watched her as she sat waiting for the ferry. I understand it's no 'skill' to be able to do two things at once... but the ease at which she completes physical tasks without ever taking her mind off her thoughts..."

Arctos raised a critical eyebrow. "You think she might be an Omni-breed?"

Nightmare obviously didn't want to answer; she held her ground without saying another word.

Arctos dismissed this; he knew full well that it was in her nature to be led. It was he who made the decisions.

"Hmm... I see. We'll be keeping an eye on her then, eh? I'll go back into the city soon. I want to see if we can really reach the island by the tunnels under the bay." He looked to Nightmare with a look of contemplation. "No one saw you when you went to see the children?" Nightmare shook her head. "Alright. If you think you can go through the city in the daylight hours, you may go to the tunnels and I will meet you there. Otherwise, go at night. Should that be the case, I will be waiting for you."

Nightmare nodded, looking grateful for the instruction. Arctos did not wait to hear from her what her decision was; he knew that no such response would come. Instead, he started for the city of San Francisco, ready to start the next part of his plan in motion.

-------At the School-------

Keisha was unable to discern at first what Chen had been so fascinated at. When she first saw Don in his room, he appeared to be quite normal.

He lay on his side with his back facing the windows and his chin cupped in his left hand. She could see that he was writing, perhaps an extra piece of homework assigned by Chen. She could also tell that he had beautiful script, and he was none too slow in his work. He looked up as she entered the room, and his eyes remained calm.

"This place used to be a prison, you know."

Keisha was slightly taken aback by his first words to her, but she quickly brushed it aside and smiled warmly. "Yes. Alcatraz Island used to be a prison many years ago; it was infamous for its isolation; that's why it was our first choice for location when we started this school. Average humans are a bit of a disturbance to our daily life, as I'm sure you've found." Keisha rolled her shoulders a bit; her conditioning outfit was still zipped tightly, sealing her wings inside a straightjacket-style outer layer. She began looking for signs of comfort levels within Don; when she felt he was ready, she would allow herself some leniency.

Don smiled. "I figured that might have been the case." His smile slowly faded. "And it could not be truer: the average human is rather paranoid when it comes to those who are different, or worse, more powerful." At this, Don sat straight up, and Keisha began to see what had captured Chen's interest.

As Don sat up, she recognized that a second set of collarbones was working in the base of his neck. They reached far behind his arms and seemed to stretch into his shoulder blades.

Then she saw the movement behind him. A thin, four-foot long finger bone gently probed out from behind Don's back. With it followed another finger; this time however, Keisha recognized a papery membrane that attached the bones. Soon, all three panels of webbing could be seen: and the surprises didn't end there. A forearm appeared, followed then by the upper arm; after a moment's hesitation, they remained half-folded in an awkward position. Stringy, strong muscles were visible under the layer of fine scales that covered his wings.

A slow and incredulous smile crept onto Keisha's face. Don's wings were each an easy nine feet in length; this was huge compared to her own size of five feet each. What really captured her attention, however, were the scales.

No scaled creature flies... at least, not one that's existent outside of mythology.

Keisha looked to Don with a calm but joyous expression. "They remind you a bit of a dragon, don't they?" Don nodded, and she gained a thoughtful look. "Hmm... Well, I don't know if they work the same as mine, but heck, I'm willing to give it a whack." At this, she unzipped her jacket and spread her own wings through the gap in the shirt's back. Don's eyes grew large.

"Y-you have them too?" His yellow-green eyes shone with amazement.

Keisha nodded. "Yes. I can actually use them too. Have you experimented with flying yet?" Don shook his head. "That's probably better. I'd prefer we didn't cause a huge ruckus outside of the school." She looked to his half-folded wings. "I'm sure those must get annoying. I thought mine were unwieldy." She stepped up to Don and sat next to him, being careful to fold her wings enough to avoid entanglement. Don attempted to return the courtesy; however, he was far less experienced and had more extra limb to worry about. They contracted and flexed, flopping limply against the comforters of his bed. One wing ended up draping over the bed's edge, and its weight began to drag him off balance.

Before he could cause more trouble, Keisha reached up and grabbed his shoulders firmly. She reached behind his back and grabbed the troublesome appendage by the base. She looked Don straight in the eye.

"Listen closely to me okay? This is going to be your first lesson in wing motor control."

Don looked embarrassed at his obvious lack of control, but he nodded. "I'm listening."

"Good. In that case, I want you to contract the wing that's putting you off balance. In the meantime, open the right one. It will help support you. I'm going to guide the left side into place as you contract, okay? ...Go."

The readjustments took almost no time at all; Don was surprisingly strong for someone who had obviously recently undergone a major metamorphosis, and Keisha's firm hands maintained perfect control over the situation.

"Hmm... you have great control already. How long have you had these things?"

Don thought for a second, then shrugged. "About a week, I'd say. I felt them coming for a while, then one day, just... BAM, they're there. My last doctor's appointment hadn't been in time to see the new bone growth, I guess..."

"The metamorphosis can happen very quickly or very slowly, depending on how old you are and how much stress you are under." Keisha speculated, almost to herself.

"Well, I'm not a very stressful guy... but I'm seventeen, if that makes a difference..."

Keisha whistled quietly. "You're right at the edge there. The hormones needed to start a metamorphosis usually fade altogether by age nineteen or twenty. How long did your metamorphosis take?"

"From when I first started noticing the change?" Keisha nodded, and Don thought. "I guess around a month. It sounds about right, anyway."

Keisha nodded. "Yes, you had a fairly quick change. That's expected though, with how late you started. Most hybrids begin to change around the ages twelve to fourteen." She thought for a moment. "There's no sure way to tell, but I'd have to say that your wings weren't fully matured just yet. Give it a week or two, and maybe we'll start your training." She looked pleased with her estimate.

Don shook his head. "I... I don't know how you just did that..."

Keisha quirked her head. "Oh? What?"

Don hesitated. "You just came in and started talking, and... I don't know. But why do I feel more comfortable with you than I do with my own parents?"

Keisha sighed. "Because I don't ignore the hybridization. Doesn't it hurt somehow when you know people see that you're different, but all they can do is ignore it and pretend that it isn't there? It's almost like they're just overlooking the parts they don't like and not liking you for you. I'm different because I don't avoid the subject. Does that make sense?"

Don looked surprised, but slowly nodded. "That's weird... You would almost expect it to have the opposite effect; at the same time, however, it seems logical."

"Well, it makes sense to someone, then." Keisha glanced triumphantly to the doorway that Chen stood in. He shrugged. "Anyway, I have to ask a favor of you, Don. We're going to need a blood sample from you once you settle in and feel more comfortable with things. You don't have to get it done immediately or anything; just as soon as you feel settled."

At this, Don smiled. "I've never been much of a people person, and I don't usually warm up to people that quickly... but truthfully, I feel more at home hear then I do in most places. Home was great, but..." He shook his head. "I know you have to fast for twelve hours prior; if I don't eat at dinner tonight, then can I get it done at 8:00 tomorrow morning?"

"That would be just fine." Keisha smiled. "I'll see you then, alright?"

Don nodded and went back to his writing. Keisha paused for a moment to make sure he was in control of his balance; when he proved to be stable, she stood and exited the room.

Chen smiled as she closed the door quietly behind her. "Keisha, you have the magic touch."

"No, I just know how I wanted my parents to treat me after my metamorphosis."

"Uh-huh... and you didn't tell Don that you'd be taking his blood?"

Keisha giggled. "You make it sound like I'm some sort of vampire! I'm a vegetarian, and a supposed fruit bat at that! Besides, he'll figure out soon enough who's the doc around this joint."

Author's Note: Well... here I am again. ^^ Now you all know what was so interesting about Don. And Keisha remains calm. Yay Keisha. :D
Stuff will actually start happening soon. I promise. >