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Description
Chapter V

"One room?" I asked the man who worked at the desk of "Hotel Pisana Palace" in Rome, Italy. The man tilted his head to the left and gave me a blank stare. I cleared my throat and held up one finger. "One room, please?" Still nothing. "Um...do you speak English?"

"Eryn, he doesn't even understand English, let alone speak it," Roxy clarified.

"I can see that, Roxy," I snapped. "Rose, you try."

"Alright, but I don't know if I'll be right..." Rose stepped up to the counter and smiled. The man smiled back at her. "Ciao!"

The man's face lit up as he responded, "Ciao, bella!" Rose blushed momentarily, and it didn't take me long to figure out that "bella" meant "beautiful".

"Tell him that we need a room, please," I told her.

Rose translated, "Abbiamo bisogno di una camera per favore."

"Una camera?" he asked, saw Rose's nod, and turned to the cubbies where the keys to the rooms were kept. "Quanti letti?"

"Due, per favore," she said, smiling. the man reached into a small cubby and pulled out an old-fashioned key. He handed it to Rose, and they went on with a small conversation. She was to tell him that we did not know how long we would be staying, but that we did have the money to pay for it. He grinned and nodded, obviously won over by Rose's looks. They continued speaking, and every now and then I caught words that I understood, such as "good" and "nice". "Grazie!" Rose said as she handed me the small key.

We turned and walked back through the lobby to a small grouping of very nice, white chairs and couches. Next to a couch in the center of the lobby was a staircase that led upstairs to the breakfast hall. "How many beds are there, Rose?" Rafe asked her as soon as she sat down.

"Two. The sign said they only had rooms that contained either one king-sized bed or two queen-sized beds." She flipped back her long, red hair and frowned. "Looks like we're sharing beds."

"Who cares? All of us sharing two beds is way better than sleeping on the ground in a forest!" Logan exclaimed. "Let's go find our room!"

The room number was 112, and it was just down the hall from the elevators. As I unlocked the door and swung it open, the somehow familiar scent of a hotel room flooded my nostrils. Kara instantly ran under my arm and flopped on top of one of the beds, sighing as it accepted her. "This bed is wonderful..." she murmured as she culred into a small ball.

"Scoot over, shrimp!" Roxy said as she fell onto the bed next to Kara. "Oh wow...beds are great..."

The rest of us filed into the room quietly. Our eyes glanced over our new surroundings, and our noses sniffed curiously at the new air. Dolan walked into the small bathroom, carefully investigating as though the place could explode. Logan went to the little sofa that sat in the corner and gently perched on it. Rafe and Rose sat on the edge of the bed that Kara and Roxy were not on, staring at me as though I had answers.

I turned and locked the door.

"So now what?" Dolan asked as he ran his fingers through his jet-black hair.

I thought for a minute. "Hey, we're in a foreign country!" Rafe exclaimed. "We don't need a plan!"

"We...don't need a plan?" Logan questioned slowly. "No more running? No more hiding?" He glanced around the room and grinned.

"Hey, I never said-" I started.

"Let's go shopping!"

"Sightseeing!"

"How about a museum?"

"Guys!" I shouted. The group looked at me as I smoothed my jacket. "Let's just calm down and stick together. We're not on a vacation." I glanced down at Kara, noticing how she had said nothing. "Kara? What do you want to do?"

Roxy groaned in defeat and threw herself back down on the bed while Kara put a finger to her lip. "Well...I am kinda hungry..."

I grinned. "Then it looks like we're heading into the city for some grub."

* * *

We rode the bus to one of the popular districts in Rome called "Trastevere". According to the map of Rome I had picked up at our hotel, this district was popular for a night on the town, which is what we were technically doing. Our stop was on the street called "Viale di Trasevere".

After urging the group off the bus, we discovered everything around us. The street was lined with fruit stands, flower shops, restaurants, gelato parlors, dance clubs, and everything else I could ever imagine.

We eventually settled for a small, open-air restaurant and sat down at a large table. After telling Rose our requests, I handed her the money and she went inside to order our food.

"I cannot believe we're actually here!" Roxy exclaimed happily. I was shocked to see her expression- she is usually sneering or something of the sort. To see her with an actual, blissful grin on her face was...astonishing. "We're in a city with so many people!"

"Yeah, and it isn't too closed in or claustrophobic..." Logan said softly, keeping his forked tongue hidden from view. I nodded and did my automatic visual sweep of the area for robots. Of course, I didn't find any, but what I did see was just as scary.

Four young children, dressed in rags, were begging at the kitchen door to the restaurant. They held their hands out in front of them, pushed their lower lips forward, and whimpered pleas for food or money. The chef, who was standing in the entranceway, raised his hand to hit them, and the children screeched and ran away.

"Did...did you see that?" I whispered to the group. Dolan, who was sitting directly to my left, glanced up to where I was indicating and nodded slowly. "I can't believe that...I mean, sure, we starve sometimes, but we've never technically begged..."

Rafe picked up his fork and balanced it on the tip of his index finger. "Eryn, it's a fact of life. People are homeless. They beg for food. I know you want to help them, but there isn't help for so many..."

Logan and Kara both slowly turned in their chairs to see the four children running away. "Will we ever have to beg for food or money, Eryn?" Kara asked quietly.

"Not as long as I can help it, sweetie."

Rose soon came back and took her place to my right, handing me the change. I calmly placed the change on the table and frowned slightly. We no longer had seven thousand dollars here in Rome...all of our money had been changed into Euros once we hit Italy. And due to the poor economy these days, we actually lost money coming over here.

Soon, a man brought us our heaping piles of food, and we began to eat instantly. My favorite food ever on this planet, from that moment on, was officially Italian food. Italians knew how to cook! Spaghetti, chicken linguini, and pizza! All were fantastic.

Suddenly, I realized that there was a low, snarling noise next to me. Without moving my head, I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see Dolan staring straight ahead, between Logan and Rafe. Slowly, I followed his gaze to see a small boy, maybe around ten years old, wth torn clothing, light blonde hair, and a dirty hat...staring at us.

Causually picking up my fork and taking another bite of linguini, I murmured, "What's wrong with that kid?"

"He smells...different. Not like the humans around us," he growled softly. "He has this vibe of apprehension."

I've never admitted to it before, but Dolan's vibes about people were usually right. Except for his evil vibes he got from Rafe...those were turning up to be very, very wrong.

I looked at Rafe and watched as he told a joke so funny that Logan almost had spaghetti come out of his nose. Was Rafe even capable of evil? I ran my eyes over his body slowly, taking in his chestnut-colored hair, his deep, olive eyes, and his perfect Caucasian skin tone. He was too...light to cause harm.

My eyes shifted to glance at Dolan. His coal black hair almost overpowered those yellow eyes of his. His scarred hand maneuvered a fork gracefully so as it stabbed a piece of food. Pulling it up to his mouth, I got to see those sharp, canine teeth that sometimes grew in size. Could he...be capable of causing damage?

Automatically, my hand went to my neck to feel the small dots of scabs from Dolan's bite. Yeah...he could cause damage. I absent-mindedly shivered, causing Dolan and Rafe to snap their attention to me.

"Eryn, are you-?" Rafe started.

"Hey! Get back here!" Rose screamed. I was on my feet before anyone could say anything, searching the area for robots. "That kid stole some of our money!" I focused my eyes behind Logan to see the small boy with blonde hair from before. He was stuffing money in his pockets and running.

"Rose, you're in charge. Dolan, let's get him!" I ran around the table and was soon followed by my wolf friend. The surrounding humans gasped at our sudden leave, but we left them behind as the boy ahead of us made a sharp right turn down an alleyway. My feet slipped out from under me as I turned, but I caught myself just as Dolan sped past me. Fifteen yards away, the kid made another turn, this time into the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Damn this kid was quick.

I was half-tempted to snap out my wings, but I remembered all of the people around and swore under my breath. I was not built for running.

Dolan was ahead of me, chasing the boy through the piazza and past the fountain that was positioned near the center of the area. Dolan glanced back towards me, and I nodded, seeing the strategy in his eyes. The kid took a right down a smaller, narrower alleyway. Dolan followed him, while I ran around the buildings, through the people, and onto the next street over.

I dodged a few people before finding the opposite side of the alleyway Dolan had followed the boy into. As soon as I rounded the corner, the kid slammed into me, Dolan right behind him. I grabbed the tattered clothing to keep him still, and Dolan quickly picked him up, pulling him off of me.

"Libero mi!" the kid cried and tried to get out of Dolan's grasp. "Libero mi!" My friend backed up into the alleyway to make sure that bystanders didn't see us. I got to my feet and followed, brushing off my white jacket. The kid kicked his feet as Dolan held him up in the air in the shadows of the buildings. "Diavoli, libero mi!"

"Feisty thing, ain't he?" I began to dig through the kid's pockets, found our cash, and stuffed it into my own. Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I got a closer look at this boy. He was scrawny, but a bit better fed than the other homeless kids I had seen...or, I at least assumed he was homeless by the torn clothes. His sandy-blonde hair was shaggy, but not nearly as long as Dolan's. He had bright, intense turquoise eyes that were shaded by the brim of his dirty, gray hat.

"Diavoli!" the kid shouted and kicked his feet.

"Look, we speak English. Sorry, kid," I said.

His eyes looked up at my face. "Inglese?" I didn't respond. "English?"

"Yeah, English."

"Oh...sorry..."

Dolan glanced at me quickly. "You speak English?" he asked the boy.

"Yes..."

"Why the hell did you steal from us, you little twerp?" I questioned, poking at the air in front of him with my index finger. "You know, we worked hard for that money." Not entirely true, but oh well.

"I'm sorry, ma'am...I really am. I'm just poor and-" The kid froze as Dolan lowered his nose right next to his dirty face. "What are you doing?!"

"Eryn, he smells pretty different...definitely different than any human." Dolan pulled his head back and grimaced. "What's up with you, kid? Been sleeping in a barn?"

"No! I'm completely human!" he cried and began to attempt another escape. "Please, please let me go, I won't steal from you again! Please!"

"Damn right you won't steal from us again..." I said. The kid jerked his head back, causing his hat to fall to the ground. "And another thing, if you...What the hell are those?" I pointed to his head. There, sitting atop of his hair, were two triangular ears, red in color with white tips.

"Those? Oh those! They're just...a costume! You know, for the festivals!" the kid exclaimed. "Please, please put me down! I need my hat!"

Carefully, I moved aside his blonde mass of hair to see pale skin right above his neck. There was something missing...his ears. My eyes widened. "What the hell?" Dolan murmured quietly, his stone-cold face masking his shock. "What are you, kid?"

"Please, I need to go!" the kid whined.

I let go of his hair and stepped back. "I need you to answer some questions for me, okay? I promise we'll let you go after that. We won't hurt you." The kid's lower lip quivered slightly. "I promise. Now, where are you from?"

"Florence, Italy."

"But is that were you were born? Who are your parents?"

"I don't have parents..."

I raised an eyebrow. "Kid...explain the ears."

He glanced upwards. "I...was born with them. Well sort of." He shifted his gaze so that he looked into my eyes. "Please, believe me when I say that I'm not...normal."

"Not human?" Dolan inquired, his voice soft.

"No...I'm genetically modified."

"A mutant," I whispered, stunned. The kid's eyes widened. "No, no it's okay. We are too." I slowly unfurled my wings, showing him the pure white feathers. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Silently, I folded my wings back through my clothing. "See? We're not going to hurt you."

Dolan gently lowered the kid to the ground and stepped back. He didn't run.

"You...where did you come from?" he asked me.

"The United States of America."

"Were...were you born in a test tube, too?"

My heart dropped into my stomach. "No. I was born to humans, genetically modified later."

The small boy hung his head. "Americans...so far behind in mutation technology." My heart moved from my stomach to my feet. He glanced back up at me. "Are there more like you?"

"Yes. We have sort of made a family," I said, looking at Dolan. His yellow eyes stared at me with curiosity as he shook his head. An automatic "no-we-cannot-bring-in-another-mutant" look from him. I sighed, my maternal instincts kicking in. "Let's go, kid. We'll get you a meal...and you can meet the rest of our group."

Description
Chapter V

"One room?" I asked the man who worked at the desk of "Hotel Pisana Palace" in Rome, Italy. The man tilted his head to the left and gave me a blank stare. I cleared my throat and held up one finger. "One room, please?" Still nothing. "Um...do you speak English?"

"Eryn, he doesn't even understand English, let alone speak it," Roxy clarified.

"I can see that, Roxy," I snapped. "Rose, you try."

"Alright, but I don't know if I'll be right..." Rose stepped up to the counter and smiled. The man smiled back at her. "Ciao!"

The man's face lit up as he responded, "Ciao, bella!" Rose blushed momentarily, and it didn't take me long to figure out that "bella" meant "beautiful".

"Tell him that we need a room, please," I told her.

Rose translated, "Abbiamo bisogno di una camera per favore."

"Una camera?" he asked, saw Rose's nod, and turned to the cubbies where the keys to the rooms were kept. "Quanti letti?"

"Due, per favore," she said, smiling. the man reached into a small cubby and pulled out an old-fashioned key. He handed it to Rose, and they went on with a small conversation. She was to tell him that we did not know how long we would be staying, but that we did have the money to pay for it. He grinned and nodded, obviously won over by Rose's looks. They continued speaking, and every now and then I caught words that I understood, such as "good" and "nice". "Grazie!" Rose said as she handed me the small key.

We turned and walked back through the lobby to a small grouping of very nice, white chairs and couches. Next to a couch in the center of the lobby was a staircase that led upstairs to the breakfast hall. "How many beds are there, Rose?" Rafe asked her as soon as she sat down.

"Two. The sign said they only had rooms that contained either one king-sized bed or two queen-sized beds." She flipped back her long, red hair and frowned. "Looks like we're sharing beds."

"Who cares? All of us sharing two beds is way better than sleeping on the ground in a forest!" Logan exclaimed. "Let's go find our room!"

The room number was 112, and it was just down the hall from the elevators. As I unlocked the door and swung it open, the somehow familiar scent of a hotel room flooded my nostrils. Kara instantly ran under my arm and flopped on top of one of the beds, sighing as it accepted her. "This bed is wonderful..." she murmured as she culred into a small ball.

"Scoot over, shrimp!" Roxy said as she fell onto the bed next to Kara. "Oh wow...beds are great..."

The rest of us filed into the room quietly. Our eyes glanced over our new surroundings, and our noses sniffed curiously at the new air. Dolan walked into the small bathroom, carefully investigating as though the place could explode. Logan went to the little sofa that sat in the corner and gently perched on it. Rafe and Rose sat on the edge of the bed that Kara and Roxy were not on, staring at me as though I had answers.

I turned and locked the door.

"So now what?" Dolan asked as he ran his fingers through his jet-black hair.

I thought for a minute. "Hey, we're in a foreign country!" Rafe exclaimed. "We don't need a plan!"

"We...don't need a plan?" Logan questioned slowly. "No more running? No more hiding?" He glanced around the room and grinned.

"Hey, I never said-" I started.

"Let's go shopping!"

"Sightseeing!"

"How about a museum?"

"Guys!" I shouted. The group looked at me as I smoothed my jacket. "Let's just calm down and stick together. We're not on a vacation." I glanced down at Kara, noticing how she had said nothing. "Kara? What do you want to do?"

Roxy groaned in defeat and threw herself back down on the bed while Kara put a finger to her lip. "Well...I am kinda hungry..."

I grinned. "Then it looks like we're heading into the city for some grub."

* * *

We rode the bus to one of the popular districts in Rome called "Trastevere". According to the map of Rome I had picked up at our hotel, this district was popular for a night on the town, which is what we were technically doing. Our stop was on the street called "Viale di Trasevere".

After urging the group off the bus, we discovered everything around us. The street was lined with fruit stands, flower shops, restaurants, gelato parlors, dance clubs, and everything else I could ever imagine.

We eventually settled for a small, open-air restaurant and sat down at a large table. After telling Rose our requests, I handed her the money and she went inside to order our food.

"I cannot believe we're actually here!" Roxy exclaimed happily. I was shocked to see her expression- she is usually sneering or something of the sort. To see her with an actual, blissful grin on her face was...astonishing. "We're in a city with so many people!"

"Yeah, and it isn't too closed in or claustrophobic..." Logan said softly, keeping his forked tongue hidden from view. I nodded and did my automatic visual sweep of the area for robots. Of course, I didn't find any, but what I did see was just as scary.

Four young children, dressed in rags, were begging at the kitchen door to the restaurant. They held their hands out in front of them, pushed their lower lips forward, and whimpered pleas for food or money. The chef, who was standing in the entranceway, raised his hand to hit them, and the children screeched and ran away.

"Did...did you see that?" I whispered to the group. Dolan, who was sitting directly to my left, glanced up to where I was indicating and nodded slowly. "I can't believe that...I mean, sure, we starve sometimes, but we've never technically begged..."

Rafe picked up his fork and balanced it on the tip of his index finger. "Eryn, it's a fact of life. People are homeless. They beg for food. I know you want to help them, but there isn't help for so many..."

Logan and Kara both slowly turned in their chairs to see the four children running away. "Will we ever have to beg for food or money, Eryn?" Kara asked quietly.

"Not as long as I can help it, sweetie."

Rose soon came back and took her place to my right, handing me the change. I calmly placed the change on the table and frowned slightly. We no longer had seven thousand dollars here in Rome...all of our money had been changed into Euros once we hit Italy. And due to the poor economy these days, we actually lost money coming over here.

Soon, a man brought us our heaping piles of food, and we began to eat instantly. My favorite food ever on this planet, from that moment on, was officially Italian food. Italians knew how to cook! Spaghetti, chicken linguini, and pizza! All were fantastic.

Suddenly, I realized that there was a low, snarling noise next to me. Without moving my head, I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see Dolan staring straight ahead, between Logan and Rafe. Slowly, I followed his gaze to see a small boy, maybe around ten years old, wth torn clothing, light blonde hair, and a dirty hat...staring at us.

Causually picking up my fork and taking another bite of linguini, I murmured, "What's wrong with that kid?"

"He smells...different. Not like the humans around us," he growled softly. "He has this vibe of apprehension."

I've never admitted to it before, but Dolan's vibes about people were usually right. Except for his evil vibes he got from Rafe...those were turning up to be very, very wrong.

I looked at Rafe and watched as he told a joke so funny that Logan almost had spaghetti come out of his nose. Was Rafe even capable of evil? I ran my eyes over his body slowly, taking in his chestnut-colored hair, his deep, olive eyes, and his perfect Caucasian skin tone. He was too...light to cause harm.

My eyes shifted to glance at Dolan. His coal black hair almost overpowered those yellow eyes of his. His scarred hand maneuvered a fork gracefully so as it stabbed a piece of food. Pulling it up to his mouth, I got to see those sharp, canine teeth that sometimes grew in size. Could he...be capable of causing damage?

Automatically, my hand went to my neck to feel the small dots of scabs from Dolan's bite. Yeah...he could cause damage. I absent-mindedly shivered, causing Dolan and Rafe to snap their attention to me.

"Eryn, are you-?" Rafe started.

"Hey! Get back here!" Rose screamed. I was on my feet before anyone could say anything, searching the area for robots. "That kid stole some of our money!" I focused my eyes behind Logan to see the small boy with blonde hair from before. He was stuffing money in his pockets and running.

"Rose, you're in charge. Dolan, let's get him!" I ran around the table and was soon followed by my wolf friend. The surrounding humans gasped at our sudden leave, but we left them behind as the boy ahead of us made a sharp right turn down an alleyway. My feet slipped out from under me as I turned, but I caught myself just as Dolan sped past me. Fifteen yards away, the kid made another turn, this time into the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Damn this kid was quick.

I was half-tempted to snap out my wings, but I remembered all of the people around and swore under my breath. I was not built for running.

Dolan was ahead of me, chasing the boy through the piazza and past the fountain that was positioned near the center of the area. Dolan glanced back towards me, and I nodded, seeing the strategy in his eyes. The kid took a right down a smaller, narrower alleyway. Dolan followed him, while I ran around the buildings, through the people, and onto the next street over.

I dodged a few people before finding the opposite side of the alleyway Dolan had followed the boy into. As soon as I rounded the corner, the kid slammed into me, Dolan right behind him. I grabbed the tattered clothing to keep him still, and Dolan quickly picked him up, pulling him off of me.

"Libero mi!" the kid cried and tried to get out of Dolan's grasp. "Libero mi!" My friend backed up into the alleyway to make sure that bystanders didn't see us. I got to my feet and followed, brushing off my white jacket. The kid kicked his feet as Dolan held him up in the air in the shadows of the buildings. "Diavoli, libero mi!"

"Feisty thing, ain't he?" I began to dig through the kid's pockets, found our cash, and stuffed it into my own. Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I got a closer look at this boy. He was scrawny, but a bit better fed than the other homeless kids I had seen...or, I at least assumed he was homeless by the torn clothes. His sandy-blonde hair was shaggy, but not nearly as long as Dolan's. He had bright, intense turquoise eyes that were shaded by the brim of his dirty, gray hat.

"Diavoli!" the kid shouted and kicked his feet.

"Look, we speak English. Sorry, kid," I said.

His eyes looked up at my face. "Inglese?" I didn't respond. "English?"

"Yeah, English."

"Oh...sorry..."

Dolan glanced at me quickly. "You speak English?" he asked the boy.

"Yes..."

"Why the hell did you steal from us, you little twerp?" I questioned, poking at the air in front of him with my index finger. "You know, we worked hard for that money." Not entirely true, but oh well.

"I'm sorry, ma'am...I really am. I'm just poor and-" The kid froze as Dolan lowered his nose right next to his dirty face. "What are you doing?!"

"Eryn, he smells pretty different...definitely different than any human." Dolan pulled his head back and grimaced. "What's up with you, kid? Been sleeping in a barn?"

"No! I'm completely human!" he cried and began to attempt another escape. "Please, please let me go, I won't steal from you again! Please!"

"Damn right you won't steal from us again..." I said. The kid jerked his head back, causing his hat to fall to the ground. "And another thing, if you...What the hell are those?" I pointed to his head. There, sitting atop of his hair, were two triangular ears, red in color with white tips.

"Those? Oh those! They're just...a costume! You know, for the festivals!" the kid exclaimed. "Please, please put me down! I need my hat!"

Carefully, I moved aside his blonde mass of hair to see pale skin right above his neck. There was something missing...his ears. My eyes widened. "What the hell?" Dolan murmured quietly, his stone-cold face masking his shock. "What are you, kid?"

"Please, I need to go!" the kid whined.

I let go of his hair and stepped back. "I need you to answer some questions for me, okay? I promise we'll let you go after that. We won't hurt you." The kid's lower lip quivered slightly. "I promise. Now, where are you from?"

"Florence, Italy."

"But is that were you were born? Who are your parents?"

"I don't have parents..."

I raised an eyebrow. "Kid...explain the ears."

He glanced upwards. "I...was born with them. Well sort of." He shifted his gaze so that he looked into my eyes. "Please, believe me when I say that I'm not...normal."

"Not human?" Dolan inquired, his voice soft.

"No...I'm genetically modified."

"A mutant," I whispered, stunned. The kid's eyes widened. "No, no it's okay. We are too." I slowly unfurled my wings, showing him the pure white feathers. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Silently, I folded my wings back through my clothing. "See? We're not going to hurt you."

Dolan gently lowered the kid to the ground and stepped back. He didn't run.

"You...where did you come from?" he asked me.

"The United States of America."

"Were...were you born in a test tube, too?"

My heart dropped into my stomach. "No. I was born to humans, genetically modified later."

The small boy hung his head. "Americans...so far behind in mutation technology." My heart moved from my stomach to my feet. He glanced back up at me. "Are there more like you?"

"Yes. We have sort of made a family," I said, looking at Dolan. His yellow eyes stared at me with curiosity as he shook his head. An automatic "no-we-cannot-bring-in-another-mutant" look from him. I sighed, my maternal instincts kicking in. "Let's go, kid. We'll get you a meal...and you can meet the rest of our group."