Level Up/The Story Begins

And of course this is a day late.

Dear diary,

''My name is Vint Gibson. You probably knew that already, as I've been talking to you for the past so many years.''

''So, why did I reintroduce myself like that just then? Well, it's a fresh start for me now. A new leaf. A different approach. However you wish to word it.''

''And as it is a fresh start, I've decided to switch up the batteries a little now that I've been forced out of my house. You know, because of that train that's going through the countryside and all? I've got compensation though, so I can get myself a new house.''

I think it's nice to move, but I'll sure miss my old house.

''Alright, enough about me, more about my whereabouts. I'm in a small seaside town in South Devon, called Paignton. Got myself a nice, tidy new house on one of the streets. I'm only around 8 minutes away from the shore, which is really nice. Only problem I've met so far is seagulls, they never shut up.''

''I've heard myth about this place, but I can't be sure. Apparently it used to be inhabited by some races of creatures called...''

The diary entry was filled with crossings out of various spellings.

''...Xirens, Valkors and Midons. That's it. Got there eventually, heh. They were like... A shapeshifting species that lived in tribes or something. Used to thrive in the ancient times. Rumour has it that they're scattered around in random places, but I'm really not sure. Problem is, they've learned to disguise themselves in a more... Clever manner as time went by.''

''It hasn't been that long since the argument between humans and anthropomorphics was settled back in my homeland, and there's still some cases of racism between them. Devon was one of the first places to settle this situation down, so that's definitely a bright side.''

''I think I've wrote enough, you know. I'm going to go outside, and when I come back I'll get some rest.''

-Forever yours, Vint.

Vint dropped his pen, closed the diary and walked towards the door of his house. Autumnal weather, even in the seaside areas of England, tended to be rather chilly, so he grabbed a coat and buttoned it up.

A sharp draught got caught inside the house as he closed the door behind him, but he didn't tend to care that much about trivial matter. He strode outside, taking in deep breaths of the crisp air. The brown-haired man let out a sigh of relief. He remembered that he used to visit the beaches of this town with his family for daytrips on occassion. It's quite refreshing, honestly.

The waves crashed against the sand, creating a calming sound throughout the town. It felt strange. It felt welcoming. It felt comforting. It felt like... Home. Vint smiled warmly to himself as he turned around the corner up to the high street. The soles of his shoes made soft noise as they tapped against the concrete paving. Bright, blaring lights and sounds came from a nearby arcade. "Thank god you can't hear that back in the house." Vint murmured to himself, under his breath. There was very few people in the streets - A brown-haired fox, a blonde woman, a white-haired bird and a teenage boy with... Bat wings on his back, apparently. Now, Vint had seen a lot of different people's apperances, but never before had he seen a human with wings. A cat tail and ears, maybe, but not a pair of wings.

<p style="text-align:center;">He stood at a distance from the other side of the pavement. He recieved a dirty look from the blonde woman, who stared at him like it was wrong for judging. "Must be a pretty normal sight around these parts." Vint thought. He tapped his foot slightly. The boy and the bird were playing a claw machine.

<p style="text-align:center;">Bright lights illuminated the machine on the other side of the street, and the sound of the mechanics moving inside of it could be heard loudly. The claw had a tight grip on a toy inside of it, before dropping it right before the hatch. "What a rip-off!" The bird snarled, gripping onto the joystick which moved the claw in different directions with one hand and slamming the metal with her other hand. A quiet voice came from next to her. "Shen...?" The boy spoke up.

<p style="text-align:center;">"What?"

<p style="text-align:center;">"Uh, can you even see how dark it is?"

<p style="text-align:center;">"Then go to sleep, ya' big baby."

<p style="text-align:center;">"...That's exactly what I'm going to do."

<p style="text-align:center;">"...Eh, I'll go with you. Don't trust you on your own."

<p style="text-align:center;">"Shen, I'm 5 months older than you, stupid hawk..."

<p style="text-align:center;">While the duo bickered, Vint crossed the road. He was still curious about the boy's wings. "...Hello?" He asked, interrupting their petty argument.

<p style="text-align:center;">"Oh, hi." The boy turned around. "Uh... I don't think I've ever seen you before. You new around here?" He flapped his wings energetically, before folding them. Shen turned around shortly afterwards, and nudged the boy with her elbow. "Blaze, introduce yourself better..." She murmured.

<p style="text-align:center;">"Right. Right. Got it." He whispered. His voice returned to being audible as he outstretched one of his arms and opened up his hand. "My name's Blaze, and this is Shen, what's your name?" A quiet sound of "His real name's Kaylem", followed by a short chortle, came from the shikra's beak.

<p style="text-align:center;">"My name's Vint. It's nice to meet you, too." He shook Blaze's hand nervously. "...I've never seen a human with wings before."

<p style="text-align:center;">"Well, I'm not exactly..." He hesitated. "...Sure why you're asking that, it's a common sight around here!"

<p style="text-align:center;">"...Right."

<p style="text-align:center;">"Next thing you're gonna tell me you've never seen a bird with sharp teeth before, aren't you?"

<p style="text-align:center;">"...Well, no, I haven't."

<p style="text-align:center;">"Ah. Well you're new here, so what's to expect?"

<p style="text-align:center;">"...I guess so, huh?"

<p style="text-align:center;">Shen unlocked her phone and noticed the time. She cursed under her breath, before nudging Blaze. "Dude, we've got to go. The orchestra's performing in 10."

<p style="text-align:center;">"God, really?" Blaze asked, getting a responsive head-nod from Shen, who started sprinting. "Nice to meet you, Vint!" He yelled as he caught up with Shen.

<p style="text-align:center;">

<p style="text-align:center;">Dear diary,

<p style="text-align:center;">There's something out of the norm about the residents here...

<p style="text-align:center;">.

<p style="text-align:center;">.

<p style="text-align:center;">.

<p style="text-align:center;">And I don't trust them in the slightest.