She was Tearis, pronounced Tears, and a strange abnormality. She was eighteen years old, but, while other college age humans were heavy, entirely ground bound, she was almost as light as a feather, a normal eight-year-old child could lift her easily and not think that she was over twelve. She wasn�t exactly tiny, but she was only about five feet tall, thin as a rail, and looked like a healthy twelve year old. Maturity wise, she was an eighteen year old in all respects.
The doctors couldn�t find anything wrong with her, her DNA had been checked and rechecked with every single method there was, but never once was there anything that would have made her body build itself like this. They said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her, but that she should avoid childbearing at all costs, since her slight frame probably wouldn�t support it, killing both her and the baby.
With an almost audible snap, she spreads her made wings and curved them, letting the strong winds of the plains fill the plastic until she was almost dragged off her feet. Tearis leaps strongly into the air, her wings fanning the ground and lifting her higher, with help from the strong wind.
She was an abnormality, an outcast, a stranger in her own world, but in these peaceful flights she could forget everything. Angling her body with the wind let her fly the way she wanted, high, above the clouds, to the point where most birds didn�t fly because they couldn�t.
Tearis caught another thermal and spiraled up even higher, into the densest cloud in the sky, covering her sight of the ground. This was what she had wanted, total freedom from the land bound, if only for a time. They had such strange problems, such strange desires, they were impossible to understand at times.
Breaking free of the cloud placed her above where she normally flew, in the realm of the crystal clear air and the sharp, cold taste of complete separation from everything ground bound. Sunlight glints off of her bronzed skin, the silvery birthmarks that had given her her name shine in the light like crystal tears.
She tilts her head to one side, breathing deeply of the sharp air and half closing her deep blue eyes in pleasure, reveling in the feel of the wind over her flesh, this is what she loved, the pureness of the few moments that flight provided.
All good things had to come to an end, even flight sustained by the wind with only a few tiny adjustments provided by her body. With a sigh she folds her wings slightly and spirals slowly down to the ground, aiming herself back at her large country house, barely giving a thought to the ruckus this would cause.
Tearis lands beside the porch, wiggling out of the wing set and folds it up, strapping it across her back like a sword on some ancient warrior. She steps up onto the porch and opens the door, quickly going over to the fridge and taking out some meat to quiet her empty stomach.
She walks through the house, idly chewing on a mouthful of the tender meat. Tomorrow was a school day, so of course she had to get to her dorm in time to get a decent night�s sleep. Tearis was forbidden to drive, and had never been taught too, another disadvantage of her small stature. She had willing friends to take her back and forth wherever she wished, of course, but she really didn�t like depending upon others so much. Some said she was too independent for her own good, but she just ignored them, what did silly ground boundeds know anyway?
Pausing for a moment to take her wings off of her back and hang them up, she then sprawls out on her favorite couch, her right arm falling over the edge and, unknown to her, taking on the position of a dragon wing, elbow slightly bent, fingers spread and forming a ninety degree angle with her lower arm, and thumb hooked like a claw. Her golden gray hair is shoulder length, and its strange coloration just seemed to be another birthmark, although the doctors had located the gene for that specific strangeness. Her eyes open again, an almost cloud color now instead of the deep blue of before, her family had a record of color changing eyes, so that was nothing special. Hers always stayed in the range from icy blue, cloud colored, or deep blue, although any color in between those three was possible as well.
Tearis rose then, and walks over to her phone. She had to call her friend, of course, but that wouldn�t take long and she�d be back at her dorm within an hour or so.
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The next day was a typical school day, boring but fairly challenging subjects, strange ground bound people, and annoying males. One of which was being very persistent.
�Hey girly, hows about you�n me takin a little trip to my place and havin a bit a fun?�
She snarls at him, he wasn�t even cute! Tearis didn�t buy into this version of fun anyway, it was too� personal.
He tries to grab her, but she twists and lashes out, landing a few good blows on sensitive portions of him, leaving him hunched over long enough for her to break away and find some of her friends.
Slipping into their group was easy, they always welcomed her, but their conversations were definitely weird.
�Have you seen that new guy? Isn�t he sooooo cute?� one asks.
�He�s perfect, not to muscular, not to skinny, handsome, courteous, and his clothes are a definite plus,� another remarks.
Tearis rolls her eyes, remarking, �I still think �Rif is better, he treats everyone like equals.�
The others all shake their heads, laughing softly behind their hands, �Griffon isn�t an equal to anyone except the street toughs, because he is a street tough. Just because he taught you how to defend yourself doesn�t mean that he likes you.�
�And Griffon isn�t even his real name, he dresses badly, has the manners of a fish, and has all these ugly scars on his body,� another one remarks.
�And I suppose you�ve seen those scars personally?� Tearis asks, her soft voice hardening.
The girl that had commented on Griffon�s scars rolled her eyes, �Of course I haven�t, you ninny, you�re the only one that dares go into the stinking rat pit to find him.�
Tearis shakes her head and walks off, wondering privately how many brain cells those girls had all together.
�Probably not enough to make a real brain,� she mutters to herself.
�The problem with them,� a deep but soft voice says, �is that they never grew up from high school.�
She turns around and looks up at the man who said that, his dark gold hair cropped short with what looks like a knife, golden brown eyes shine out from a strong face that is enhanced by the scars that run across it. He grins, showing off white teeth with one of his side teeth missing, the result of a street brawl. His clothes are a dark tan, and in amazingly good condition for one of his sort, having only a few rips in them.
He steps forward, a light, gliding step that would have done a princess proud, the sun glinting off his few tattoos, which are collars of red gold feathers around his neck and wrists. Those had been given to him when he was still making his name in the streets.
�Hey �Rif,� she says as she falls into step beside him, having to step quickly to keep up with his long legged stride, it didn�t help that he was over six feet tall anyway.
Griffon throws an arm around her shoulder lightly, more like a father than a lover, and asks, �Hey Te, how�s it going?�
�Right now I�m happy that you gave me that training in fighting dirty.�
�Another one of those stupid men?� he asks.
Tearis smiles up at him, �Of course, what else? I don�t think he�ll be able to have fun for a while though.�
Griffon throws his head back and laughs, �You, Te, are mean.�
She smiles up at him innocently, �He was asking for it, though.�
�Gerrout you little liar, you probably taunted him just so that you could do that,� he remarks, his eyes dancing with laughter.
Tearis�s eyes take on a look of pure innocence, �I never.�
�Uh hu, riiiiiight,� Griffon replies, looking down at Tearis with amusement.