#!greetings

         Graduation meant money from relatives, meant parties with friends, meant crushing anxiety- 

                     Kyle tightened his hand on his soda can. The community center’s lights were low, music pounded out of speakers. Classmates-- former classmates, they’d just graduated, after all-- were peppered around the place, singing, dancing, enjoying their freedom. 

                                                                            High school was done. 

             Kyle didn’t glance up at first, when a shadow fell over his desk- he was in the middle of finishing up a story, and he spoke quickly- impatiently even. 

             “If you’ve come for an interview, you need to go back down a flo--” His words trailed as dark eyes glanced up and stared. 

           “Um.” 

              Well. That was... ... a thing. His brows furrowed and he closed his mouth, then tried again. “... um.” Still words f a i l e d him. Another attempt was made, and really he wasn’t sure... what he was looking at. 

                                                Lamely, he managed,

Once she'd heard footsteps crunching the grass and leaves, Serena had quickly rushed into her makeshift cabin. She had had enough of being social for one day--it was really tiresome. But then the stranger drew closer, and she softly gasped at the sight of him.

The first thing that she noticed about this boy was that he had wings. Real, genuine, feathered wings--much like her own, though they were white instead of a shade of honey. Wide-eyed, she watched him from the window as he crept closer, and finally rushed outside, wings fanning out behind her and lifting her up in her excitement.

Wandering the streets of Lumiose was one of Serena's least favorite things. The people, the noise, the cramped lifestyle--none of it was suited for someone like her, and she found herself giving anxious chitters as she walked, head burrowed deep in the collar of her jacket. Her wings kept themselves pinned against her back beneath her clothing, so even if she was somewhere where she would be able to fly, she knew that she couldn't.

But when she spotted easily recognizable flaming red hair, her tune completely changed, and she approached the man she'd spotted with a grin, waving at him and letting out quiet, pleased chirps. It was so nice to see someone she knew when she was feeling so afraid. Sure, she wasn't exactly friends with Lysandre--at least, she wouldn't label their relationship anything quite like that--but she still knew him, and that relaxed her quite a bit.