#the-lone-reader

“Come!” he called. “We don’t have any more time.” His mother grabbed his arm and half dragged him to the now fading light as quickly as she could. Alexo almost tripped as a loud bang shuttered the door; something - or someone- was trying to get in. Sirana let out a blood curdling shriek when the building shook. They were finally at the hole in the floor and Alexo could clearly see what lied inside. It was an old space-pod, just barely large enough for Sirana and Alexo to fit.

“Hand me the children! Quick!” Next thing he knew, Alexo was strapped into the pod with the trembling, delicate figure of his sister at his side. His mother knelt in front of them with the doors straining behind her.

“Now you listen here,” she said, the usually hidden twang of her accent bleeding through from her worry. “I want you two to remember that your father and I love you very much and you need to look out for each other.” Both his parents kissed them on their foreheads with watery smiles before closing the pod. Alexo could make out through the dirty glass the door splintering open and large lights coming through. His father ran towards it and leapt forward, changing midair into an animal he didn’t recognize. Sounds like fireworks exploded towards his parents as his mother seemed to join the fight. Sirana was sobbing against his shoulder. His eyes were wide with shock as he held her close to him.

“Noo!” All he could muster up was a weak yell as he saw the bloody figure that was once his father fall lifelessly to ground. A shriek of pure mourning pierced the air and brought Alexo back to reality. “The controls,” he sputtered out as he started to enact what his father had taught him. “Okay, drag,” he flipped a switch, “check. Engaging engines now.” This continued until all shields were activated and everything was ready for launch. Tears flowed down his face as he took a final glance at the slumped bodies that were his parents.

“Launch.” he croaked, pressing the final button. What seemed to be an army of people started forward as the pod shook. One of them was at the glass when-

Alexo bolted up with a sharp sting on his cheek from where Sirana had slapped him awake. “You were having nightmares again,” she said quietly. Alexo looked down at the sweaty sheets below him with a scowl on his face.

“It’s been eleven years, Sirana, why can’t I get over this?” he asked. She sighed.

“Watching our parents being murdered isn’t exactly forgettable, even with time. Now scoot your lazy butt over Ally.” He glowered at her.

“I’ve told you, don’t call me that.” But he obliged to her demand and moved over on his small bed to make room. Sirana slid easily under the sheets and curled up beside him. It was something they did religiously whenever one had nightmares about that night. “Do you think you can go back to sleep?” she asked.

“I’m not sure.” he admitted. “Sometimes I can, other times, I stay away until daybreak.”

Sirana looked at the small old school wrist watch he had bought for her when it was her birthday a few years back. "Well it's getting close to morning. Do you just want to see if we can rest for a little bit and if not pack up and head out?" She asked.

Alexo nodded. Even if he couldn't get back to sleep, he could see the tiredness in Sirana's eyes. She needed rest. "Let's do that." He agreed.

His sister rested her head against his shoulder and curled against him. Her finger tapped softly against his chest along with their intertwined heartbeats. Her chestnut hair tickled his chin, but he did nothing to smooth it down. Rather quickly, he heard Sirana's breathing slow, until he was sure she had fallen back asleep. Alexo tried, he really did, but every time he closed his eyes the images flashed behind his eye lids. He settled for staring out the window of their rented room.

The two of them had been on their own since their parents had been killed, fleeing to a close by planet that wasn't heavily controlled by Haven's government, called Morono. It was mainly controlled by a slew of criminals of all kinds, and they all lived with each other by the simple saying; Honor Among Thieves. And that's what most of them were. When they had crashed down, a black markets dealer had found Alexo bleeding from taking the brunt of the crash to protect Sirana. The dealer, a mixed alien species named Dormal, had taken them in. Over the years he had become known as Uncle Dorm.

And that's where they were headed. He and Sirana had pulled off a few thefts and had racked in some good stuff that Uncle Dorm could use. He was talented when it came to complicated tech. But the thing was, it came from some drunk Haven officers that were too busy staring at some of the bar maids to pay attention to their precious cargo. So of course they had to take what they could without anyone being suspicious.

As the second moon rose in the early morning sky along with the sun, that was when Alexo decided to wake his sister. They had a simple routine; get up, pack, hide their stolen cargo, and leave without evidence that they were there. Sirana had a knack for pickpocketing so they actually had enough money to get a cheap room. At least it was safer than the streets or woods.

"So, how close are we to the Central?" Sirana asked, swinging the pack onto her shoulder.

"In walking distance, we should be there in about two hours. An hour and a half if we hurry." He replied, smirking as she huffed dramatically.

"But that's forever!" Sirana complained. "I don't wanna walk that far."

"We have walked longer distances, this shouldn't be too bad." Alexo joked.

"Oh shut up Ally. Maybe we can catch a ride, if we're lucky." She said, looking up and down the deserted road. Chances were very slim that anyone would be traveling on this road.

The twins settled into a comfortable silence. Like usual, Alexo looked up at the sky. The sun was big in the sky, and had a bleached white moon revolving around it, making it almost like a second sun. And this planet had three moons altogether. One came up at night, and the other floated in the sky during the day, and it just so happens that that moon was one of the only moons that was also colonized.

Alexo looked down when he felt a rock hit his foot. “Really?” he asked, looking up at a smirking Sirana. Her dark grey eyes twinkled mischievously.

“Oh yeah.” she said. Without warning -though it was obviously anticipated- he kicked the stone back over to her. Playing this game with it helped pass the time as the time dragged on. Soon though, the rough view of the city appeared out of the horizon. This seemed to renew the very little energy that they both had.

“I’m gonna go check it out and, you know, stretch my wings before we reach the capital of Planet Moron.” Sirana joked, tossing Alexo her bag. He easily caught them.

“Be careful.” he warned out of habit. “There are going to be more Haven officials here than the places we’ve been.”

She rolled her eyes. “They’ll just assume that I’m a loose bird from one of the many exotic vendors.” In a blink of an eye, the small figure that was once Sirana was instantly tuned into the form she fondly opted for. She was turned into an unusual bird. With a wingspan of over six feet tip to tip, her slim body was about half of that. The sleek feathers looked like they were made out of soot, but they shone smoothly in the bright sunlight. In between the each individual feather and on the tips, they blended into a shining gold that made them look sharp.

Tall, single feathers the color of their identical chestnut hair rose tall at her head and went in a line down over her spine until they laid flat to make her tail. Her thin but invincible talons as well as her beak were made out of a shining white ivory. The only thing that would set off anyone that this bird was different wasn’t its strange appearance, but the vaguely humanoid eyes. They were the dark stormy grey that his sister had.

The Peacock Phoenix is the animal she had shifted to. The bird was incredibly strong and fast, but was also showy. Just like Sirana.

She spread her long elegant wings, and with one strong flap, she shot up into the sky.

  -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

  Sirana spiraled high into the purple tinted sky, loving the feeling of the sharp wind through her feathers. She never got tired of flying, and never would. After indulging herself by twisting and turning as she flew in gratifying turns, Sirana set herself in the now fast approaching city. The tall skyscrapers were either rusty and brown with age with a small amount of windows, or brand new and glittering.

She fluttered down onto a stop post of the two guards at the main entrance. There were more places to enter -some known but most of them were a secret- but they was always a continuous flow of people and aliens alike. There were some who stood tall in expensive clothing with exotic creatures of all kinds; beautiful birds with clipped wings and their feet tied to their masters arm or shoulder, endangered felines that were either small and lean or big and were on leashes. Sirana spotted a few tigers and panthers, the big black cats reminding her of Alexo. Just like her, Alexo favored certain animals.

The guards only spared her a glance, marvelling her feathers for only a second before sitting lazily back in their chairs. For a city of thieves, it was pretty boring work, they thought. But they couldn't have been more wrong.

Over the years, to avoid getting caught, most people in the city have developed ways to sneak, steal, and sell their items. While this was also the capital of this planet and it was a Haven controlled government, it was also the capital of the black marketing system. And for them, it was home.

After circling the entrance a few times, she sent mental pictures through the link her and Alexo shared of what she saw. The guards and where they were standing, the people that were around, and anything that could pose any threat no matter how small to them. The link was something only shifters could do. It pulsed only faintly when they were humans, but when either or both of them changed into an animal, this was their only way of communication. But since she and Alexo were twins, they could share feelings and images that just strengthened their natural bond.

Sirana flew back high into the sky and to the direction her brother was still walking. In a matter of minutes she landed on the ground near him and was back in her human form the second her feet hit the ground.

"You really should change in plain sight like that." Alexo scolded, narrowing his green and gold speckled eyes. "Someone could have seen you."

"Oh please. I checked to see if there was anyone around to see, and everything was clear." She comforted. Taking her things back from her brother, she strapped her bag to her back and pulled her hair in a bun.

"Okay, fine." Alexo said grudgingly. She felt a ping of annoyance and worry in the back of her head. She knew just why he was feeling that way.

The people who had killed her parents all those years ago belonged to Haven's government. Shifters had been seen as threats during that time -and still now- because there were still some civilization's that refused to be apart of Haven and posed as possible threats. Morono used to be one if them. And with their high crime rate and the shifters, they became ruthless. Haven went on a rampage where they located every shifter in the solar system and killed them. Their parents had been some of the unlucky few, and spared them by going on a suicide mission.

Sirana sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll be a little more careful next time." She appeased him. Alexo knew that she was only saying it to please him, but he took what he could get.

As she had been flying, Alexo had covered some good ground and in only over ten minutes, they were at the gates where she was only moments ago. The bored guards didn't even spare them a glance. The more burly looking one flicked his eyes up from his magazine just long enough to wave them in before going back to what he was doing before as if nothing happened.

"Haven is really slacking off with this known crime city. Or maybe we've gone so underground they don't even know it's going on." Alexo said once they were out of earshot.

"Well what did you expect? A full body search?" Sirana asked sarcastically.

"They used to." Her twin pointed out, easily weaving his tall and narrow frame through the crowd.

"Well they don't anymore." She said, suddenly taking hold of a dirty hand that had strayed a little too close to her belongings and held it tight. The four clawed hand yanked out away and out of her grip. The small assailant glared at her with black beady eyes.

"Next time you try to steal from me, you'll lose a hand." Sirana warned sweetly. The man grumbled in a jittery language that she didn't understand.

"Could you stop making a scene?" Alexo's voice said behind her. She made sure he saw her over the top eye roll.

"He was trying to be sneaky and steal my stuff." Sirana said with a wave of her hands.

"Well we are in a city of thieves."

"Really? Oh I had no clue!" The twins looked at each other before smiling widely.

"Now come on." Alexo said, throwing his arm across her shoulders. "We've got places to go and people to see."

  -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

  The familiar sound of metal grinding on metal and loud swearing rang through the garage-like house. Sirana looked over at her brother and smiled, shaking her head. A loud clang rattled from the work room to the right, and more swears followed.

"What a catastrophe! Piece of garbage. Next time I see that rat for selling me cheap machinery I aughta-"

"Uncle Dorm!" Sirana called, bursting through the door dramatically. The small man let out a high pitched squeak that didn't fit with his usual throaty voice he got from the pipes he smoked religiously.

Dormal Quentatu Lebrantea Jr. was a round little man at three foot four. Instead of five fingers like humans had, he had a total of eight on each hand. His seemingly scaly pink skin caused his baby blue eyes to seem smaller, but they still had that genius/madman look to them. Thin, white tentacles made up his hair and thick bushy mustache.