Reena kicked at some loose gravel on the road they walked on, causing pebbles to tumble away from her. Her wings hung down limply. Kara, walking behind her, noticed that her wings stemmed out from where her shoulder blades would've been. They glittered as faint autumn sunlight hit them, and they were as clear as glass. "She has to go back home," Kara heard her say to Sunny. "All she's done since she's gotten here is cause trouble." Sunny was nicer about it. "We can't do that. She needs to understand her powers that a Hybrid has, and what human could tear her that? Also, you know we can't make a portal without the help of thr Gifted fairies, and they won't help us unless they think we have a good enough reason to use a portal. She'll just have to stay here." Reena sighed. "I guess I see your point. Where do you plan on going now?" "Home." Kara saw Sunny smile. "I can't have sleepovers with you all the time." "Alright. Bye, Sunny." "Bye!" Sunny waved and rose into the air, flying past various trees and disappearing into the distance, her lovely wings glowing in the darkened forest. The sun was setting, and it was becoming colder than before. Kara shivered slightly, and Reena grabbed her arm. "Come on, Kara. Let's get a move on. It's not safe outside at night." There was a howl in the distance, like that of a wolf, and Kara didn't think twice about following the fairy girl to her home.

Reena brought her to a large pine tree. Its wiry branches wound around in different shapes, and in the fading light, they cast eerie shadows. Kara searched for a door, but there was none. Reena smiled. "No, Kara. Some of us fairies don't have houses as fancy as Sylvan's. My family has a tree house instead." Before Kara could say anything, Reena flew up into the air, her feet leaving the ground. Kara gasped ad she was lifted into the air too, being held up by Reena. "Don't drop me," she cried. "Wouldn't dream of it." Reena reached the top of the tree quickly. There was a medium sized, wooden house hidden among its uppermost branches. The door opened, and Kara and Reena went inside. A little wide eyed girl appeared, hurling herself at Reena. "Reena!" she cheered. "You're back!" Reena laughed. "Hi, April." April turned to look at Kara. Kara smiled. April had to be Reena's little sister. She had black curly hair and pale green-blue mottled eyes. A big white bow was on the top of her head. Her white dress trimmed with lace and her colorful butterfly wings added to her cuteness. "How old is she?" Kara whispered to Reena. "Seven," replied Reena. Someone else appeared in the room. She was a taller, older woman with short dark hair and startling green eyes. Her dark brown top and pants had a white apron partially covering them. "Reena!" she gasped. "Oh, Reena, my baby, I thought you'd never come home." She rushed over to the fairy girl and hugged her tightly. "It's nice to see you too, Mom," Reena choked out. The moment Reena's mother released her, she scowled. "Where were you last night? You were supposed to come home early. You have chores and magic homework and flying practice!" "I was at Sylvan's," Reena told her indignantly, sitting in a couch nearby. "Sylvan's? But you hate Sylvan!" April piped up. "I still do!" she spat. "She wanted me to stay at her house for the night, and since she's a Gifted fairy, I can't just tell her no."

"What's a Gifted fairy?" Everyone turned to look in Kara's direction when she had spoken at last. She swallowed hard. The dispute with Reena had kept them from realizing that she was even in the room. "Reena?" Reena's mom said. "Who's this?" "Kara, I think." "Is she a Flightless?" squeaked April. "She's so weird looking..." Kara frowned, but remained where she was. Reena shook her head. "Nope. According to Sylvan, she's a Hybrid and a Sighter." Reena's mother went over to het, studying her very closely. "I don't see it," she stated, "but if Sylvan said so, then maybe there's just something I'm not seeing. Where will she be staying?" "Here. Sylvan thinks that our house is the safest place apparently." Reena's mom sighed. "Alright then. We'll find a bedroom for her later. How did she get here?" "Through a Gateway." Reena's mother's eyes widened. "A Gateway? Really?"  "I made it with this special book," Kara explained. When she didn't get a reaction out of this statement, Kara realized that the mother was too distraught and hadn't heard her, so she only nodded. "Well, I think I'll be able to fathom this better once I've eaten. I'll prepare dinner for all of us. Reena, help set the table." Reena's mom fixed Kara with her forest colored gaze. "For now, you may call me Mrs. Fern." "Okay," Kara responded. Mrs. Fern gathered dainty china cups from a cabinet, and Reena set up gold rimmed plates. April bounded around the room like a deer, putting forks and knives down that were once again wooden. "Um...do you want me to do anything?" Kara asked. She felt awkward and out of place here. "You can collect berries for dessert," Mrs. Fern decided. "Just head outside. There's a bush near our house with blueberries on it. It's not very hard to find." Kara nodded and turned to go to the door, but suddenly an arrow flew across the room, headed straight for her head. She gasped and ducked at the last moment. The wayward arrow collided with the wall behind her and stuck there with a sharp twanging sound, its point embedded deeply there. A boy appeared in the room, holding a bow at his side. He had deep red hair and brown eyes with a plain black t-shirt and slacks, and his long wings beat steadily at his sides. "Kyle, I swear, one day soon, you're going to kill someone," muttered Mrs. Fern, yanking the arrow from the wall and handing it to the boy as he came closer.  He chuckled. "I haven't yet. It's good to see you, Aunt Melanie." Kyle went over to Reena, a smirk on his face. He ruffled her dark hair with one hand. "Hi, Reena! How's my little cousin doing?" "Fine, but don't call me that." She shoved his hand away with a harsh push, but spoke again. "What do you want?" "Nothing at the moment. I just came here to retrieve my arrow. So sorry about that. I've got lousy aim." Kyle stuck the arrow in his pocket and turned to leave, but he spotted Kara and whirled around to face her. "Well, who do we have here? Is she a friend of yours, Reena?" "An acquaintance," she corrected. "Her name is Kara, and she'll only be here for a little while." Kyle nodded and then walked over to Kara, circling around her like a vulture would with a corpse. "Hmm...I see. Is she a human?" "Yes," murmured Reena, "but she's also a fairy too. At least, that's what Sylvan said." The fairy boy seemed interested at that, and he looked into Kara's eyes directly. His brown, smoldering eyes seemed to be staring directly into her soul. "How did you get here, little Hybrid?" Kara fumbled with her words. "I, uh...u-used a portal-I mean, a Gateway." She felt like the magical boy standing in front of her was important somehow, but she didn't understand why she thought this. "A Gateway? That's impressive. See you around, Kara." The boy passed her, and gently bumped her shoulder as he did so. A vision came to her at his faint touch, a brief one with no sound. She saw his bow release an arrow tipped with something black. The weapon lodged itself into someone's chest, and blood spewed forth from the sudden wound, but the face of the wounded person was hidden from sight. Kara blinked twice, and the vision was gone, along with the boy who had given it to her. Everyone else had returned to their dinner preparations, and had left her to stand alone in an empty space by the front door. Kara scurried outside, feeling as if she were being watched by a distant figure. She desended the rope ladder that hung from the tree house and hit the ground hard, nearly tripping as she ran. She had to find that bush and had to get out of the view of her pursuer as soon as possible.