The glints of your brethren appear in the sky as the streets empty themselves. Night nestles above you and men begin to return to their dens.

Your friend gets up on his feet and checks the situation outside of the alley you are hidden in. Then, with a nod and a fist-with-an-upwards-thumb, he waits for you to follow him.

You and your friend leave your hideout to return to the main street.

Only a few humans are still in sight. It feels so lonely now, without the sounds and eyes of those who lived there. A few artificial stars glitter over the pink sky, sitting on their black, thin trunks. You briefly stop to look at one.

You have always been curious about them, ever since the first time you saw them sprout in the humans' dens. Little twinkling stars made of flame, but they never traveled. They stood still, and went off with a gust of wind.

Their light was bright. Much brighter than your white feathers.

A tinge of jealousy rises in your chest.

Some of your kin fluster over these artificial stars, caressing them with their claws. They say they are very warm.

You are curious to try it out. You grasp the pole firmly with your hands, and help yourself up with your legs.

A gasp comes from your companion who runs over to you, raising his arms. You tilt your head: he is very worried and afraid. But you do know how to climb, and you know he has nothing to worry about. You just want to see how warm this artificial star is.

But he grips your body and starts pulling down, muttering words you cannot possibly understand, but they are filled with nervousness.

You sigh. As long as he is with you, you will have to trust your kin's words to satiate your curiosity. You return back on the ground and the boy sighs in relief. He then takes your claw again and walks with you towards the inner part of the village.

You two are near the far end of the town, when a voice makes both of you jump.

The kid turns around, eyes wide, and meets another man.

He is quite tall, wearing dark clothes you cannot identify. But he wears something funny on his head, similar to a small tree trunk, but black and made of fabric.

The man waves his hand in the friendly gesture you've seen humans do to other humans. You cuddle up to the child's back, trying to hide your presence, but your friend's gaze reassures you that everything is fine.

Can you really trust them, though? You do know that humans like to hunt stars, despite how difficult it is. Is the man interested in your presence, or in your skin?

The man's eyes widen at your sight, just as you expected. You close your wings a bit more, ignoring the pain from the broken limb, as the man starts using words you cannot understand.

The boy listens intently, an arm on top of your head, as if to say "This is mine".

You are not his, at all, but you pretend to go along with this silly little game. Humans avoid stealing, you know as much. So, if you are under his property, you may be safe.

The kid finally answers back. His voice is sweet and mellifluous, so stark in contrast to what you remember him being, that for a moment you think that the darkness has switched your friend for another similar human. But then he turns towards you and gives you a smile, and you try to relax.

The man answers back, before stopping and looking at the stars. Is he hoping that they'll give him an answer? But you do not feel a prayer from him, so you do not know what kind of answer he pretends to receive.

But you wonder if that is what just happened, because the man nods and talks to your friend again. He seems ecstatic with his words and he also nods at you.

You do not know what to think. What has happened? Why is the child now taking your claw and inviting you to stand up?

Is it time to go?

You start following the man in the silent night town. You cannot appreciate the artificial stars anymore, you do not feel safe. This man and this child... What are they thinking?

You walk for quite a while, until you surpass the walls of the settlement. You look back, the artificial lights slowly dimming one by one as you keep walking, disappearing behind the treelines.

The man points at you and says a bunch of words at your friend. He shakes his head and squeezes your claw, and you do not understand what is happening, but the man mumbles something that you cannot hear and whips out a metal box, a glass cylinder in the center.

He does something to it, and a small flame alights in front of your eyes. Mankind can create fire in such small places! You are delighted. You do know how darkness scares his kin and that is why the Moon and the stars are so bright, but you are glad that they have weapons against their worst fear.

With the little light in his hands, the forest is now less scary and you keep walking.

Soon the darkness reveals a giant structure. It does look like one of the abodes that humans dwell within, but this one is much bigger than the ones you've seen in the village.

Artificial stars abound among the trapped plants you see. There is a small wall and, beyond it, a small forest trapped within. All plants are asleep, as they should be, but you do hear the faint buzzing of life within them: the golden streaks of light of the artificial stars disturb them.

The man leads you and your friend inside the trapped forest, walking over some rocks that pierce the moss on the ground. You want to kneel down and touch it, but the kid's hand is firmly gripping your claw, and you cannot stop for a second, to your dismay.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

The man fiddles with his hole-with-an-end of his clothes for a moment, and then opens a door. The kid grabs your claw again, and gives you a nod.

You have no idea what he is nodding to, but you appreciate him looking out for you.

The door to the giant abode opens, and the man lets you in. The boy bows a little in front of him, and you imitate him. Is this another way humans greet each other?

The insides of the abode are bright. Much, much brighter than anything you've ever seen. Much brighter than the fields under the summer's sun, or the sea under the sunlight. You never thought that humans hated the darkness so much that they wanted to banish it entirely.

Artificial stars hang from the roof and from the walls, different items glittering under the light. You feel a strange sensation in your body, as if something is twirling inside you. You feel green inside and you squint your eyes a little to reduce the sensation. It is not pleasant, and a tiny bit of hate erupts in you towards the man dressed in black.

The child says a few words with an excited tone, but not as excited as when he first saw you, and the man sports a great smile. One of his teeth is golden, you notice.

The man and your friend are talking. You do not understand a word, but your only wish is to be out of that abode as soon as possible. The lights are blinding and hurt your eyes, like spikes in your head. You are squinting as much as you can, but you only want to curl down and shield your sight with your wings.

Somebody taps your side. You look down: it's your friend. He takes your claw again and leads you in the upper part of the house. The man is smiling, his golden teeth reflecting the light, and you wonder if humans were so scared of darkness that they wished to produce light from their bodies.

Your friend stops in front of a door. The man puts his hand on the handle and looks at him with worry. You follow his example, and tilt your head. If you could, you'd drag a branch on the ground and depict that squiggly line you understood to be a question, but the floor is made of wood and will just leave scratches.

Actually, you could do that.

But, before you can claw the floor, the child yelps and takes your claw and shakes his head.

At least the worry disappeared from his face, replaced with a weird sense of lightheartedness. Did your little display make him happy? That was not your intention, but you are still glad, for you do not like to see humans, much less your friend, wearing a frown.

The man says another word and the child nods. He opens the door and, with a motion of his hand, invites you in.

You feel weak.

A fire burns in your chest.

A scream is surging from your throat, and your claws ready themselves.

The room you are in right now is taken straight from the depths of the collective nightmares of nature.

The room is bright. So much brighter than the others. It feels like being stuck in the belt of constellations. Stars. This is starlight. You recognize it.

It is your kin's light.

But there are none of them here. Instead, you can only see their remains. Their feathers, once shining so bright in the sky, are now hanging on the walls of that abode, and provide light.

Pieces of stars you probably knew.

And, in the middle of everything, so bright that it makes him almost invisible, another man stands next to his desk. One of his teeth is also golden and he wears clothing similar to the man who has brought you here.

Disgust rises in your body, when you feel the kid squeezing your claw stronger. You briefly wonder if that was the reason why he was so worried before stepping foot in the room, but the rage drowns those thoughts. You do not see those two men anymore. You see murderers. The bear who wanted to kill you in the forest wanted to feed her young. The Star Hunters hunt your kind as a way to prove their worth.

Why did these men relish in the activities of others and the pain of your kin? The lights are so bright. So very bright and they engulf the room. You see nothing else but light.

And the golden glint of those teeth.

You hear a rustling in your chest. It is an unknown feeling. You want to hurt these men. You want to feel your claws tearing their flesh.

You want to make them suffer like they did with your kin.

A fiery fire bursts inside you. You have never felt this way. You have never felt this feeling.

And suddenly you think, if this is the anger that humans possess.

It scares you.

You close your eyes, trying to quench your fire.

The man near the desk is talking.

When you open your eyes, the kid is looking at you. He wears worry on his face.

This is why he was worried.

Why has he brought you here? He was worried. He understood the risk.

Why did he want you to see what the humans make of your kin?

The conversation seems to end when your friend intertwines his fingers with the man next to the desk and shakes them. It is a strange motion, but one you see very often among humans. And then, one of the murderers gives your friend a piece of paper.

Your friend takes your claw and leads you to the door. Together, you leave the nest of the murderers.

When you see the night sky again, you're grateful to feel safe again.