Hey Guys!

This is my NaNoWriMo challenge! I only joined halfway through November, which meant I only had half the time to write a 50,000 word novel. I've been slacking off though, which means I have to write 3,5 thousand words each day now to finish on the 30th of November.

So this is just straight off the top of my head, this has not been edited yet. So please forgive any grammatical or spelling mistakes. I promise to edit in December/January.

Anyway, I hope you like this and please read and review! Every bit of (hopefully constructive) criticism is appreciated!

Have fun!

Chapter 1

"Nulasandura!" I cringed at the sound of my full name. I had never liked it and so, I was only called by it as punishment. I wondered what I had done this time. Quietly, I slid from my bed and placed my feet on the downy floor. With a quick glance at the door, I collected my coat and leather back and slipped out my window. On the ledge, I counted to three and jumped, reaching out to grab onto the thick branch that hovered over the ground, about nine feet from my window.

The ground was well over fifteen feet below me, but I wasn't nervous on my way down. I had always been good at climbing; it was something I'd had to learn from early childhood, just to keep up with the others. My bag caught on a branch on the way down, but all and all, I made it down safe and sound. One last look at the cabin-like house, which basked the grass with the light from it's windows, and I was gone from sight.

The forest around my house felt more like home than my room ever could. Falcon's Valley was surrounded by it, secluding it from the bristling fast-paced life that made up the rest of the world. Here, we were no one but ourselves. Or so the elders always reminded us.

I heard my name being called several more times, knowing the voices were still far behind me. Still, I decided to up my pace. They could catch up with me anytime they wanted. The only thing lagging them was that they didn't know where exactly I was. And I was very good at being quiet when I wanted to.
When I reached the edge of the broad-leaved forest, where the conifers started, I pulled my bag up over my head and swung it up the rocks. I knew there was a cave somewhere up there and I had been planning on finding it, so I thought I might as well go now, before Asath would decide to take pity on my mother and help her find me.

The first couple of feet up were easy, but further up, the rocks were loose and I didn't trust most of them to hold my weight. If only… I started to think, but I stopped my train of thought. I had to remind myself there was no reason to take pity on myself. I was fine.

My fingers were bleeding from tiny cuts when I finally reached the plateau sticking out of the mountain. I tried licking it off before the scent spread, but when I heard the rush of wings, I knew it was too late already. Quickly, I searched for the entrance I knew must be somewhere there. I found it hidden behind one of the bigger rocks, it being no bigger than I could army crawl through.

Now, I wasn't the kind of girl that got scared easily and I definitely wasn't claustrophobic. Without giving it a second thought, I pushed my bad into the narrow opening and scooted after it.

"Nula!" I heard a male voice call from outside, just as I got up to take in my surroundings. The cave was rather high inside; I could easily stand up straight and then jump up some more. But the space was cramped in width and depth. It would probably fit about three of me, certainly no more.

"Nula! I know you're here, I can smell your blood. You even left some on the rocks. You're getting sloppy." I now recognized Lenid's voice and breathed out heavily.

"I'm here!" I called out and I leaned toward the small ribbon of sunlight that came through a crack in the thin rock wall. It was covered almost immediately.

"You look horrible, Nula," Lenid decided to add. "And you know we could easily break that sheetrock, right? Now come out, Nagaia is looking for you." I made a face, knowing he could see me in the dark.

"I don't want to see her. She called me by my full name. That always means trouble."

"So you decided to just run off, because that always makes her react so much better." Well, he got me there. I rolled my eyes and started pushing my way out of the cave again, deciding I'd come back some other time to really take a look at things.

"There you are!" Lenid sighed when my head popped out of the side of the mountain. I watched his jet black hair flop up and down when he walked over to me. He tsk'd at my disheveled clothing and brushed some of the dirt of my shoulder.

"Miss Kaele, what on earth am I going to do with you?"

"You can- "

"Besides not taking you to your mother."

"Well, then you're useless, aren't you, Len."

"Just shut up and hold on, alright?" He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. With one last rebellious sigh to let him know I didn't agree with this, I clamped on to him before he jumped off the ledge.

Len brought me to my room, setting me down on the windowsill so I could climb in on my own. He was gone before I could even say goodbye. Dreading what was on the other side of the wooden door beside my bed, I took a moment to compose myself before I went into hallway. From the second story, you could look down to the living room, sort of like an inside balcony.

Down there, I could see the my mother's silvery hair contrast against the dark blue of our sofa. She felt my stare and looked up, her cold blue eyes piercing me. "Nula, I see you have come back. Please join me, will you?" I was surprised at her full sentences and polite manner. She usually didn't give me the time of day. Then I noticed the second pair of legs, which must belong to someone sitting on the other sofa. I couldn't see who it was, though, the sofa was under the balcony.

I was wearing my faded black jeans, ripped at the bottom of the legs, and a soft brown sweater I liked to wear when I was going up the mountain. Knowing my mother would hate others seeing me like this, I purposefully went down the stairs – as loudly as I could – and let the other take my wardrobe and messy hair in fully.

Maybe it's true what they say about what goes around, was all my incoherent brain could form after processing the information my eyes provided. The long, slim legs and small waist were followed by a muscular torso and a face no one in Falcon Valley wouldn't recognize.

"Nulasandura Kaele." The intruder let my name roll around his tongue, as if he could taste it. I shivered at the sound of his voice and pushed away the sudden urge to get on my knees and bow my head. I didn't have to turn and see to know my mother had succumbed to it. "Leave," he ordered my mother and she went without a sound of protest. Then he returned his attention to me. "How nice it is to see you again. We have met before, haven't we?"

I sat down on the sofa, never taking my eyes off of him. "I wouldn't remember, Angin." He chuckled and little sparkles seemed to light up in his eyes.

"Call me Ryn. There's no need for formalities, now is there?" My eyes grew at this. I didn't trust the situation. There was no way a Riodan would themselves be called by their first name, by any of us Kadal, certainly not one like me.

"Why isn't there a need?" I asked, cautious. The corners of his lips curled up into a smirk and he stood up to come closer to me. He was tall, like his ancestors, and he towered over me. I thought I knew what he was doing – asserting his dominance over me – but then he bent his knees and took a seat right next to me. I could feel the heat of his body seep through my shirt and onto my own skin. The urge to turn away, to be submissive, was overwhelming, but being as stubborn as I am, I willed myself to look into his deep, red brown eyes.

How do you do this, Nula? Ryn's hypnotic voice registered in my mind, but only faintly. Just like any other of the Kadal, even he was not able to stick his thoughts into my skull.

"I don't know how," I answered out loud. Mindlanguage was the way of interacting for most of the Kadal, but it was improper to manipulate an Angin's train of thought. On top of that, I would never admit that I wasn't even able to do use the most basic Kadal power.

Rynkimuth Riodan cocked his head to my left and let his eyes run over me. Surely you must have some clue, a theory? I shook my head. I didn't know why I couldn't shift like the rest of them, I didn't know why I was the only person in this valley that stayed herself, firmly in her own skin. Unlike my mother, I did not lose my form when I got angry, unlike Lenid, I could not sprout wings when I wanted to. Unlike all of my people – who turned into Draegon when they wanted or when they could not control themselves anymore – I was human and I had never as much as grown my nails out.

That was the reason my mother saw me as a monster, why she hated the sight or smell of me. She wouldn't even tell me who my father was, because she blamed him for me being the way I was. From what Lenid's mother Asath had told me, I knew he was a human, one from the city. Normally, a half human Kadal should have no problem shifting, but for some reason, I was the exception.

My mother, who was one of the Guard, could not stand the thought that one of her children was the weakest beings around. My half brothers had made it into the Guard, my one half sister was a Statue and me? I was just plain old Nula, running around on my all too human legs.

"Well," Rynkimuth uttered, out loud, which spooked me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him and tried to figure out what he wanted. "I have to go, Nulasandura." He stood up and bowed before me, ignoring all status-bound protocol. "But I will come again."

Later, I was lying on my bed, trying to figure out why Ryn Riodan, one that was practically royalty to us Kadal, had bothered to come visit me, and only so shortly. It can't mean any good, I thought to myself, getting into an upright position and looking at the stars that shone through my opened window.

I got up and stepped right into the current of air blowing through my room. Closing my eyes, I lifted my arms slightly and for a second, I let myself wonder what it was like to fly.