London, UK

[TwilightFalls]

Kalari woke gently, the sun just beginning to streak through her curtains and warm the room. She stretched happily, vaguely remembered fragments of dreams passing through her mind. Throwing off the covers, she bounced out of bed. Before long she was clothed and sneaking down to the kitchen. She didn't want to wake her cousin again, not when he were so kindly letting her stay. Her cousins were all so much more easy going than her parents who worried if she was out late or left before they were up. Her older cousin Chris had handed her a spare key the moment she walked through the door, bag in hand. He had told her that so long as she didn't destroy the house or wake them with her coming and going, she would be more than welcome to do as she pleased.

In the kitchen, Kal downed a large glass of water then selected a juicy looking apple from the fruit bowl. She slipped quietly out of the house, munching on the apple as she went. Finishing it, she dumped the core in a nearby bin, before heading to the park where her morning routine always led her. As she pushed through the wooden gate at the entrance, she spotted a figure who had arrived before her and raised a hand in greeting

"Jed! Do you even sleep?" The young man paused in his stretching to grin up at her.

"Of course. You just sleep too much. Now, get to stretching, or you'll break yourself again on the run and wont be able to practise your jumps and flips"

Kal pulled a face at him, and started her stretching routine, slightly cursing that parkour was such a demanding sport, and that she had picked one of the most demanding people to train under.

[Shubit]

While the park was relatively empty that morning, there was a third person there too just out of sight of Jed. His name was Jason and in his hands was a video camera.

Jason loved to film everything. From an early age his parents realized his obsession when at four years old he used his Dad's camera to film earth worms in the garden wiggling their bodies on a thin glass slab. Jason later entitled his epic "The Worms of Hell" and even credited his Dad in the credits as "Camera Man 2". The only downside was when Jason brought the worms back into the living room for a live press conference.

Since then Jason studied media with a passion. Today he was examining butterflies during their pollination cycles for his class project. He ran up to them, squeezed the zoom option to focus in on their elaborate patterns and designs before dramatically zooming out as they flew away. While this was enjoyable for a while, Jason was really here for a boy he saw a couple of weeks ago in this same park.

Although he never caught his name, Jason had watched the boy do amazing breathtaking stunts between buildings. Jumping over cars and underneath them. Flipping over bars and landing in rolls. He had stifled enough courage to ask the boy a favor, and today was the day.

'Perfect,' muttered Jason as a girl entered the park and waved at his target. It looked less awkward if there was another person there.

'Hey!' said Jason, a little too quietly. 'I mean, HEY YOU! Hi!'

He made his way over to the couple with his camera in his hands. He opened conversation with a broad smile and held out his hand politely to the girl.

'Hi! I'm Jason! Sorry to disturb you guys--I just wondered if you would like to be filmed...I mean--your stunts, to be filmed?'

[TwilightFalls]

Kal grinned and shook the outstretched hand. "Sure, why not! Although you might not get much good footage out of me! I tend to fall more than I succeed!"

Jed frowned "I'm not sure... This is our private practise time after all."

Kal hit him on the arm, then laughed at his wince "Come on spoilsport. It'll be fun!" She turned back to Jason "Film away, camera man!" She struck a dramatic pose, waiting for Jason to turn on the camera. Jed, in the meantime sighed, then dropped low and swung his leg round to impact the back of her knees. As she crumpled, he repeated his favourite phrase to her

"Situational Awareness! Without that you'll hurt yourself one of these days! Now come on, if we're putting on a show, we'd best make it good"

[Shubit]

Great he thought. It was funny how she was his saving grace. The boy was a little reluctant but she turned him round nicely.

He smiled and clapped his hands. 'Haha! Awesome! Thanks, now let me set it up for you!'

He reached down into his back pack and produced a memory card which he installed into the camera. Click. The lens that he was using went out by a good number of inches, and the casing was large like a paparazzi member.

'Right,' he said, manning the camera and filming Kal's dramatic posting. 'You're looking great. Let's go!-'

It was then that Jed crumpled the girl over. Jason's eyes widened and he flinched a little. 'Or...' he said with a nervous smile, 'when you're ready...'

[TwilightFalls]

Kal stood slowly, glaring a bit at Jed. He smirked at her and she looked away, choosing to ignore him as she tested to make sure she hadn't twisted her ankle or knee on the way down. That would have been a fate worse than death, she thought. If she couldn't use her legs, then she couldn't dance, she couldn't run, she would be trapped for the long days until it healed. Luckily, there was no damage and her customary sunny smile quickly returned.

"Alright, Mr Cameraman, we're ready!"

"We'll start out slow, just using the stuff around here. If you want more footage, we can go over to the abandoned warehouse over there" Jed waved his arm towards one end of the park. "That's where we can do all our best stunts"

He flashed a grin at the camera, then looked over at Kal. She nodded and at a hand signal from him, they were off! Sprinting the short distance to a long, rectangular concrete block that was apparently meant to be used as a bench. It came up to midthigh height, and so Kal vaulted it easily, at the same time the Jed leapt up and spun sideways through the air to land on his feet on the other side.

Still side by side, the pair raced towards the matching bench which was only a few meters away. Simultaneously, they reached it, placing their left feet on the edge and using it as a springboard to somersault backwards in the air, landing with knees bent to soften their landing. Then, after vaulting over the other bench, they spun and did the whole routine in reverse. Kal was a split second behind Jed as they landed in front of Jason again, but the pair were grinning widely.

"Well, Mr Cameraman? What did you think of our warm-up? Timing was a bit off at the end there, but it was the best we've done it so far. Clearly your presence is inspiring us" She blew a kiss at the camera lens and laughed lightly.

[Shubit]

Above the trees that rustled in the park, grey clouds gathered. They had formed so quickly one might have been thrown off by the sudden lack of light they had caused as the sun briefly disappeared and came back again; a small drizzle of rain began and little wet patches appeared at their feet.

Jason adjusted the lens with a smile. He did not notice as the rain it fell into his hair. As the two began to perform their stunts he watched with great interest, occasionally gesturing left and right when Kal was out of range of the shot. He praised her for being a natural in front of the camera. Even the taller guy was warming up a little: everything was going to plan.

'WOOO! Yes people! Faster! Looking good Higher!' he yelled as he galloped after them.

Wet leaves stuck to his shoes as he span round to watch them do the routine in reverse. He wiped the camera lens as the rain grew heavier. He had been doubtful up to this moment that his film would come to anything and finally, when they grinned back at him, he realized that this meeting had been a blessing in disguise. He pulled pieces of hair from his eyes and blushed when Kal blew him a kiss.

'Eh...that was amazing guys! It looked great!'

Then suddenly, perhaps miles away from where they stood was a brief flash of thunder. The booming after sound did not come but the flash was enough to catch Jason's attention. He looked past the couple of parkour experts with great interest, above the fencing of the park to two high flat compartments 100 feet off the ground. The two were separated by a gap of 2 metres where some metal chords connected both. A couple of black birds were perched there looking down at the park from the distance.

Jason looked at the two birds and then back to Khal and Jed who stood before him.

'What about up there?' he asked. 'Ever done that jump before? I'll wager fifty pounds on you making that one!' and with added cheek he pulled out a number of notes from his pocket, flaunting his pocket money in front of their faces.

[TwilightFalls]

Kal jumped when the thunder flashed, though she quickly hid her nervousness. She may have taken a step towards Jed, but she would deny that to her dying day. She laughed, somewhat nervously, having barely heard what Jason had said

"Sure, we'll take that bet, won't we Jed?" She looked up at him, eyes sparkling and he groaned

"You didn't even listen did you Kal... That jump up there. Reckon we can do it?" He pointed the same way Jason had and Kal spared a cursory look at the top of the flats before looking back at Jed.

"Duh, of course we can! Or are you chicken?" She stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes at her childishness.

"You're such a brat Kal. It's a wonder I put up with you" the upward curl at the corners of his mouth belied his humour though

"Of course you do! I'm awesome after all!" She spun and bowed with an exaggerated flourish. "Kal, the great and mighty! Kal who all adore!"

Jed rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. "Come on then oh mighty one, and you too Jason. My flat's in that block, so I can get us in there. I think I know the way to the roof too."

"Hang onto that money, Mr Cameraman! It'll be ours before the day is out!" Kal declared, grinning widely.

[Shubit]

The journey to the skyscraper was longer than expected and Jason had to look back to his newly acquired friends to ensure they were still following him.

Through a park gate, down an alley way and into an open street, did he take them. The main road was already filled with the morning traffic. Two red stop lights flashed at them as if to warn them not to go further, yet Jason walked on through. He carried a great grin on his face bearing his teeth now, and despite Kal's joke about him losing his money (which was probably true) to him the excitement of the stunt far outweighed the expenses.

Left, right and left again: it would soon become clear to Kal that Jason knew the inner streets of London very well, perhaps too well for a boy of this age.

'Up here folks!' he said. By the time they reached the skyscraper the rain had lessened into what felt like a haze. Above them the sky looked like a grey blanket, throwing London into a miserable gloom. He pointed towards a fire exit that was adjacent to the entrance of the complex. When Khal entered she would be able to hear Jason's echoed footsteps above her, as he quickly went out of view.

Though she could not see him, she could hear him singing a song by Leonard Cohen that went like this:

"Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And Im crazy for love but Im not coming on
Im just paying my rent every day
Oh in the tower of song

I was born like this, I had no choice
I was born with the gift of a golden voice
And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond
They tied me to this table right here
In the Tower of Song "

When they arrived at top of the skyscraper they could see a grand breathtaking view over London. In the distance the London Eye blinked back at them, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament seemed like a mile away. For a tourist this was certainly a treat, but for them this was just another day. Jason's friends were parkour experts and this, perhaps, was the biggest treat of his life.