Of Ravens and Doves - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Hikaru
Getting arrested was not part of my agenda, especially not by asteria. Not that paper was accessible in[City]; you were lucky to find bread that the rats hadn't already maimed. Most people here can't read or write, although many spoke several different languages from a range of different cities.
I hadn't meant to hurt the poor boy, but he wouldn't keep quiet. Noise attracts predators - both humans and the infected alike so I silenced him. Permanently. It was simple, such an effortless movement that caused the human body to fail. I value my life over a strangers and if that makes me a monster, so be it.
But my biggest mistake; letting down my guard. Vulnerability was fatal, even more so around rogue asteria. It was a careless mistake, one that led to a pitfall of consequences. Creatures of the night with movements soft and silent as shadows. The moonlight hours were their territory, their reign of terror creating stories of beasts and bloodshed. Rogues were uncommon, though not unheard of.
I was at their mercy, outnumbered and overpowered. My knives offered no protection against asteria, their cold edges harmless without a target to hit. They protected me, killed for me, but my body was sluggish, muscles burning. My blood was paralysed as the asteria escaped.
When I came to, I was surrounded by a gang of children, their skin pulled taught, pale over their bones. Clothes were tattered, faded, sewn and destroyed, a faded rainbow. They turned me in for a meagre bounty. I let them. This place was no home for children.


My steps were deliberately slow, dragging as I took in the atmosphere of the city, remaining several feet behind the asteria. I had never seen buildings that kissed the sky, nor stars that shone freely in the ink spilled night, the hours bleeding together into a single cloak of darkness.
A black coat hung upon my shoulders and trailed behind me. Its frayed edges clung to the ground as it collected grime and dust that crept beneath my feet. Even here, even now, dirt still existed within the capital, no matter how perfect a mask it donned. But there was no denying that the air here felt fresher, cleaner as I took deep gulps, savouring the way it cooled my lungs.
The asteria's back was turned, those obnoxious wings tucked away under layers of scarlet silk. They were like flames, her wings: bold, powerful things. Her gait was smooth, unfaltering as her long red plait rested upon her left shoulder. I shifted my position slightly to the right - she was most likely left dominant.
Asteria themselves were rare beings to come by, even rarer to see one in public, unafraid to show off their inhumanity, their changes in DNA. Most asteria kept their quirks hidden, though rogues never had that ability. For an asteria to have quirks of a mythical being? You're talking chosen one material there.


I tested my wrists against my handcuffs - an alloy - cheap, but pitifully weak: it would put a needle to shame. There was no point restraining someone with such uselessly brittle scraps of metal. It seemed like the capitol hadn't rejuvenated its economy yet, or perhaps they didn't care. With asteria, criminals could easily be detained, with or without shackles.
My fingers reached for the bobby pin threaded through the side seams of my cloak. Imbecile. If you're going to arrest someone, at least do it properly; if I was a serial killer, you'd all be dead.
The streetlights did not flicker or sputter as we walked in their presence. With the virus gone within the capitol's boundaries, people had grown complacent, soft. If only all our lives were that fucking easy.
We come to a red-bricked building - its edges were clean-cut, the red outstanding in its surroundings. A golden badge sparkled on the door: a dove and vulture, entwined by chains. My fists curled slightly at the sight of the dove and nails dug into my palms. It is only then that the asteria looked at me, as she held open wooden door, her emerald eyes filled with contempt, expression guarded as she noticed my free hands, but she made no move to restrain them.
If anything, the inside was cleaner than the outside - floors whiter than bleach and walls with clear reflections upon the marble. My dark hair and clothes were stark against the sheer brightness. It felt like I was being blinded. It felt like a hospital room.
I was lead to a smaller room; it looked more like a holding cell. What the hell happened to being innocent before proven guilty? The phoenix woman unlocked the door, her eyes narrowing when my feet remained firmly placed onto the ground.
"Take off your cloak."
My fingers ran against the tattered cuffs of my cloak as my eyes flitted up to meet hers.
"I didn't think it was legal to undress minors."
The asteria blinked in surprise, but she didn't rise to the bait.
"Take it off," She ordered, her tone clipped as she took a step closer to me, her voice now hushed: a whispered threat. "Unless you have something to hide."
"I don't see how my cloak is a problem."
The asteria sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Okay, have it your way, but you'll be staying here until further notice."
"I didn't think kidnapping was legal either."
At that the woman lost her patience and shoved me inside the cell as I let myself be tossed inside like a ragdoll, but I easily caught my balance. My cloak flared up for a brief moment as I stumbled, but that was all it took. One mistake. My third mistake tonight.
"You..."
I cut her off before she could say much more.
"Yes me. Now goodnight." I say and shut the door in her face as the bars clanged in protest. Another mistake, made out of tiredness, hunger, and carelessness. Anger is not the only thing that makes a fool of a man. Desperation is another. I had lost my trump card, now it was time to find a new ace.