At the bringing up of the wolf, I nod my head, having some hope of normalcy. <That's what we believe. Hopefully, that means I can be your son again, even if I just have fur.> Please don't reject me, is all I think, despite all that they have shown that they wouldn't. There was still that small, nagging worry in the back of my head.
I relax as my father smiles, "Believe me, you're still my son. If I could, I would easily send you to school as is and have you keep your old room. But for your safety and ours, we need to be practical. You will always be our son, fur, scales, or feathers." My mom nods in agreement. YAY!!! That fully makes me feel a little more relaxed and happy as I butt my head against his leg.
To my surprise, my mom then adds, "If you're able to turn into a wolf, we might be able to set up your bedroom to be your room. We have some ideas on how to explain where you are, but we will discuss it tomorrow. For today, you're home, and if there is anything you need, just ask. We wanted to get you some food, but weren't sure what worked," she says, causing me to lick the inside of my beak, feeling hungry again, and all I could think of was CHICKEN!!
Shiners spots the look on my face and laughs. "He's really been enjoying raw chicken, even if he looks weird trying to swallow it," he says helpfully.
This gets an odd look from my parents and concern. Ohhh boy, my mom always told me about eating raw chicken, and here it's my favorite. My mom speaks up, "You eat raw chicken? You know how dangerous that is? You can get badly sick from it."
I shrug and know that, but I've had zero issues, as Shiners points out, "I've seen eagles eat far worse than raw chicken without getting sick. Maybe us birds are just more resilient than you weak humans," he jokes, as I give a shake of my head and groan. It's true... but not sure it's helping.
I nod my head as I look up at them as best as I can with puppy-dog eyes, though it might look more like, ?Those are some tasty fingers you've got there,? but I tried. My mom sighs. "I guess it's fine, but tomorrow we're going to the library and trying to find out what you can eat," she says.
My dad nods. "I think it's a good idea. We'll see what we can find out about you and meet here in the morning once your sister is off at a friend's, and we can plan out a bit better what we're doing," he says as I relax a little. I really was curious what I was. I didn't look exactly like that golden eagle that kept harassing me, so I doubt I'm that.
I nod, and then Charlie chooses that time to rib me a little as he says, "So has Mike told you that he?s got a new boyfriend?" he asks as I quickly shake my head at that. Nope, nodda, zilch, no chance.
My dad just stares at him. "Well... that's a little sudden, and who's the lucky boy?" he asks as I blush, trying to hide my face with a wing.
My mom catches my reaction. "Wait, you do have a boyfriend?" she asks, giving a confused but small smile.
I quickly try to correct, <I don't know what he is... some eagle keeps showing up and acting weird. The others think he's trying to court me. Frankly, it's embarrassing. And I'm not looking to find a boyfriend, girlfriend, or eagle-friend, or whatever, at the moment,> I say.
My dad, noticing my embarrassment, decides to continue. "Aww, that's cute, your first crush," he says as I shake my head more frantically. It wasn't a crush, at least not on my end.
My mom just looks confused. "So, how do you know he wants to be your boyfriend? And you're a guy, why would he do that?" I just groan, as I was wondering about that myself. Well, they say love is blind.
Charlie laughs, "We?re mostly just teasing. There is a male eagle, and he seems to have interest in Mike, but Mike has no interest himself. Just the male showed up flying around him doing aerial displays and then dropped a rabbit in front of him," he says.
Shiners nods his head, "Well, he definitely gets an A for effort, though Mike has mostly been trying to ignore or chase him off," he adds as I whew, least they are on my side on this, even if they are airing out some embarrassing moments.
I groan as my mom laughs. "Wait, he dropped a rabbit in front of you? I wonder if it's some kind of showing you he's a good hunter," she says as I groan inwardly.
I just sigh. <Whatever it is... it was annoying. I left the kill there. It felt wrong to take it from some bird I had no interest in, at least,> I say. I realize he did do one thing I liked and add, <Though he did help chase off John and Frank when they got a little too close for comfort,> I say. That bothered me as much because he did it, and because part of me appreciated it.
My dad nods, "Well, just remember you?re a boy, and he?s an eagle. I?m sure he?s just confused. I think you mentioned before that females are bigger than males generally, and you?re definitely bigger than the eagles I?ve seen around here. Not sure how you spurn advances, but I?m sure you can dissuade him. We joke, but we know it must be hard for you. We?re here if you need to talk about it." He says. I give a small nod, glad for that.
My mom smiles, "I?m sure you?re tired and want to settle into the shed. We will speak with you once we get back from the library, and I?m sure Charlie can help us too," she says.
Charlie nods his head. "I should get home shortly, but I'll be back tomorrow. We can try to figure the rest of this all out." Thanks, bro, I think, giving a nod to my parents as I run over to hug them again.
I try to avoid it, but still end up yawning. It was getting closer to night, especially back here in the darker area. <Thanks... as a human, I could stay up for another five hours. As an eagle, my brain is telling me bedtime,> I sigh, still not getting used to these eagle instincts and sleep time.
I try to give Charlie an awkward wing pat. <Thanks again for being here, Charlie. This would have been so much worse without you.> Hmmmm, so this is my home, I think. It all looks nice and comfortable as I walk in, and Shiners joins me.
My mom looks in. "We're heading back home, but remember there's a birdie door you can leave from if you need to, and just think of this as slightly fancier camping in your backyard. I'll bring some chicken for you later," she says. I give a nod and turn to fly up to the birdie door and give it a nudge as it easily opens up for me.
Shiners comes up next to me and gives it a nudge, it?s a little harder for him, but it still works as he smiles, <I definitely can give it a shot overnight. If it?s too much, I can fly to a tree. Doubt I will need it.> he says as I grin, nudging him. He really does like me, not that it wasn?t hard to guess.
I look up at the perch nervously. <You think that will hold my weight? I appreciate it... but I don't want it to fall in the middle of the night.>
He chuckles as he nods. <I tried my weight earlier and didn't even make it move, so your fat butt should easily be supported. Just don't gain any more weight eating all those chickens,> he says. I try to stick my tongue out, but it looks more like I'm panting as I fluff my feathers out a little.
I fly up to the perch, and it feels okay, just a smidge awkward due to the angle, but it seems to work as I nod. <Well, we can at least try it tonight.> It better hold my weight, or I'm going to be grumpy.
I hear a knock on the door as I glance back, and my mom smiles as she enters. "Brought you some chicken. Heated it a little, not much, just enough that it wasn't fully frozen."
I look up with a smile. My mom is really learning. <Thanks, Mom. I know this is all weird... must be even weirder for you, but I appreciate all this,> I say as she sets down the chicken on one of the boxes.
She nods and relaxes a little, then turns to Shiners. "Thank you for helping too. I can't imagine where he'd be without you to translate for him," she says.
Ohhhhh, I think, leaning into it as she carefully reaches down to pet my head, making me relax a bit more. "It's good to have you home, though my motherly instincts are to ground you for skipping school all week," she says. I give a small chirp and do my best, as a bird can, to give her the look.
She smiles, looking like she wanted to give Shiners a head pat, but appears to think better about it. "Now you two don't stay up all night talking about... well, whatever you two talk about. Tomorrow will be here soon," she says.
Right... staying up, I think, giving a small grumbling chuckle mentally. <About that... my brain now says sleep once it's dark and wake once it's light. Not really much of an option. Though maybe... might be hard. Could put a small light in here of some kind. A cord one to pull on,> I say, wondering if that would work.
She gives a laugh and suddenly gets a look that makes me nervous. "Finally! A good thing from you being a bird. Now, if we can just get you to school somehow, you'd never miss school," she says. I laugh and don't have the heart to tell her it might be worse in winter, but at least I could fly to school when I missed the bus.
I grin and head over to the chicken, taking a drumstick and quickly gulping it down hungrily, not even realizing it might be weird for her until I hear her gasp. She stares. "You just gulped the whole thing down? Doesn't it get stuck?" she asks.
I shake my head, giving a small chirp, as close to a laugh as I can. <I worried the same thing, but it seems quite fine. Even if it feels mildly off, it just goes straight down,> I say.
She rolls her eyes. "I wonder what other interesting changes there will be, but I should let you two sleep," she says, giving a wave as she heads toward the shed's door and walks out, shutting it behind her. I relax a little, glad so far nothing bad has happened.
<Well, I'm home, though I wonder what it looks like from their end. Eating a drumstick felt weird, but it must be even more so for them,> I say as I yawn, flying back to the perch.
Shiners gives a mental laugh. <Well, they'll get used to it. They're taking it mostly well. We should sleep while we have the chance. And thank you for inviting me in. Probably not joining you in the main house, but this one feels great,> he says, closing his eyes, and soon we're both asleep.
