Chapter Text

Birdcalls layered over one another, chirps and trills weaving into a living melody that filled the humid air. Sunlight spilled through the canopy in wide golden beams, turning morning dew into glittery sparkles.

The bright sun in the sky lighting up the stage that was the forest sky.

Loud beating of wings as harpies glided in the sky singing their pretty songs.

Feathers flashed in blues, greens, and golds as they twisted mid-flight, laughing, calling, showing off effortless arcs and daring dives.

Some skimmed treetops so closely their wingtips brushed leaves, while others soared high, silhouettes cutting cleanly across the blazing sky.

Branches trembled as harpies leapt from limb to limb, hopping and dancing with barely contained excitement.

Vines swayed, leaves rustled, and petals shook loose as claws scraped bark and wings snapped open and shut.

The greenery was thick broad leaves layered over one another, flowers bursting with color, sunlight catching on dew clinging to moss and fern.

Hidden away from the noise, deep within the hollow of an old tree, something small stirred.

Curled inside the smooth wooden cavity was a tiny ball of soft, gray feathers.

They open their large eyes blinking the sleep away.

their tail feathers wag as they register the cheerful singing of other harpies, they stumble out of the warm nest.

Clumsily, the little harpy pushed themself upright and stumbled toward the opening of the hollow.

They peeked out, squinting against the sudden light, small wings twitching on their back.

They leaned further out and you saw a harpy with bright yellow wings throw her hatchlings.

You make a squawk sound as the hatchlings float down but flap their wings and fly past the hole you're in.

Your tail wags further excited and ready to try flying on your own.

Glancing back at the nest, you hoped to find your parents there, ready to encourage you. But the hollow was empty.

The sudden absence made your tail feathers droop for just a moment, a tiny spike of panic crawling through you.

But you were still only a baby chick. Before fear could grow, the cheerful chorus of singing from the other harpies pulled your attention again.

You scramble to perch on the ledge of the hollow using your tiny talons to dig into the wood keeping your hands out stretched to balance, your wings felt too heavy on your back making you off balanced

You remember your dada saying you’d learn how to control them eventually.

You closed your eyes for a heartbeat and hoped maybe today was the day.

With a deep breath, you stepped onto the branch, stretching your wings out as all around you harpies soared effortlessly through the sky.

Their songs swelled, bright and ringing, lifting your spirits. Confidence built inside you, a tiny fire of determination sparking along your chest.

Then suddenly a red harpy screamed as a net shot out from the ground, snaring them mid-flight.

A sharp, startled chirp escaped your throat. Around you, the joyous singing fractured, cracking into frantic cries.

Mothers, Fathers and hatchlings alike scattered in panic,One by one, more harpies were snatched into nets, disappearing from the air as the jungle filled with chaos.

You stumble back scared a practically large harpy with bright colorful wings flies past you in a hurry the gust of wind they create knocks your small body off the branch.

You uselessly try to flap your wings to stop your fall so you can return to the safety of the nest but you hit the ground hard.

The air is knocked out of you as the screaming of your fellow harpies echo all around you.

You back up to the trunk of the tree you glance up hoping your parents would notice you missing and come find you.

You make a tiny chirp hoping to alert someone to your distress, your chest rising and falling heavy as your heart hammers in your chest.

When nothing happens you make another louder chirp but that seems to draw the attention of the snatchers because soon a cage closes down on you.

You scream and screech hoping to draw someone's attention to save you but no one comes, the forest is silent.

𓅨𓅆•••𓅆𓅨

The loud rumble of an engine vibrated through the wooden walls around you.

Your tiny feathers fluffed up instinctively, trapping what little warmth you could as the world jolted and shook.

The box you were trapped in was dark and cramped, smelling of splintered wood and fear. Every bump in the road sent you sliding against the rough boards.

You scooted backward until you hit the corner, curling in on yourself. If you pressed tight enough into the wood, maybe it would stop the cold from creeping into your bones. Maybe it would make the shaking stop.

You're in some dark cramped box going to another place where strange people look at you with excitement.

It reminded you of how your parents warned you to stay away from predators, you miss them, you hope they find you.

Hope they follow the scent of your feathers or hear your frightened chirps.

Hope they take you back to the warm hollow and tuck you beneath their wings.

You wont try to fly anymore if they come to save you.

You promise.

The air around you grew colder. Colder than the jungle had ever been. The warmth of sunlight and leaves felt like something from a dream now.

There was a shout from the front. Tires screeched.

The world tilted violently to one side.

You slam against the crate wall with a frightened squawk as it skids across metal. For a single, impossible heartbeat, everything goes weightless.

It feels almost like flying like the moment before lift catches under your wings.

However reality quickly crashes down into you as you harshly slam down into the wooden surface.

The crate tumbles, and you are thrown hard against the wooden floor as biting cold tears through the slats. The box jolts once,twice and then stops.

Silence.

A truck engine revs in the distance, growing fainter and fainter until it disappears entirely.

You’re left alone.

You wobble to your feet and peer through the small breathing holes carved into the wood.

White.

Nothing but endless white snow.

Your body shivers violently, a weak chirp slipping from your throat. You fluff your feathers as much as you can, trying to trap warmth the way your parents taught you but it isn’t enough to chase the cold away.

The cold slips through settling deep into your small bones.

You close your eyes trying to sleep to ignore the chilling cold. Your feathers are not fully equipped to handle this weather.

You curl into yourself, tucking your head beneath your wing, trying to pretend the shaking is just the wind in the trees and not your body.

You don't know how long you close your eyes for maybe a few minutes.

Then you hear it.

Crunch.

Heavy footsteps crushing through snow.

They grow louder. Closer.

Your eyes snap open just as the lid of the crate is pried back.

Freezing air rushes in all at once, sharper than before, stealing what little warmth you had left. You shiver violently, shrinking against the corner.

Another one of those strange creatures stands above you.

You recognize the shape immediately. tall upright, furless face. Your heart leaps into your throat.

But this one looks smaller. Younger. Softer around the edges.

Kinda like you, maybe she’s a chick just like you.

Her eyes were kinda funny looking,they were red and one of them was looking off in another direction. 

She leans down.

You let out a frightened squawk, pressing yourself back against the wood as far as you can go.

“It’s okay,” she says.her voice plain and monotone. She picks you up, her hands covered in fuzzy red mittens.

You flinch as her hands scoop you up, instinct screaming at you to struggle but you’re too cold, too tired.

The moment she lifts you free of the crate, the wind hits again and you tremble harder, feathers puffing uselessly against the snow-laced air.

“You poor expendable thing, come here i got you” she brings you closer to her chest you feel the warmth radiating off of her, despite being scared you immediately snuggle up to her.

“Shh its okay i got you, i got you”

You tuck your head further into her as you feel her fuzzy mittens run gently across your head down to your back where your feathers are collecting snow.

“I’ll take care of you” she says and you believe her.

𓅨𓅆•••𓅆𓅨

Some years later

You wake up stretching out your arms and legs, your wings stretching out and fluffing up also.

You stand up shaking your  body yawning as you get out the man made nest, it was mostly just a bundle of blankets but you still called it a nest.

Still you shake your tail feathers and climb out the nesting box, it is warm and cozy once you come out of the nesting box you're in a black bird cage,

The cage around you is tall, black, and meticulously clean. You’ve lived inside it long enough that it barely registers as confinement anymore.

You climb up to the latch using your claws to dislocate the latch and then push.

The door swings open.

You climb out with ease, landing atop the cage for a moment to stretch again. Your wings unfurl down your back, catching the early sunlight that filters through the window.

As a harpy you wake when the sun does.

You can see the yellow beams shifting through the windows, you have a task, a very important one.

You spread out your wings and jump down onto the ground using your wings to soften the landing.

You’d tried doing that before without using your wings and ended up with a limp for two days.

Though you never learned to fly, they were useful somewhat.

But back to your task, you woke when the sun rose, that didn’t mean others did.

So you as helpful as ever quickly scurried down the hall, your talons scraping against the tiled floor passing by many picture frames of you with Navi. 

There you were as a tiny gray fluffball perched in fuzzy red mittens. Another where Navi stood stiffly at her birthday party while you sat proudly on her shoulder with blue frosting on your lips.

One from her graduation. Cap slightly crooked, you tugging at the tasse while she holds a trophy. Holiday photos of her with gifts and you hiding in the christmas tree, Matching sweaters you hadn’t liked but tolerated.

You flicked your tail as you hurried past them all.

At the end of the hall stood a large door.

It wasn’t closed, it was slightly ajar, so you pushed it open and stepped inside the bedroom and saw a figure sleeping in a bed.

Your task!

You padded closer and grabbed the edge of the bedsheet, digging your talons into the fabric. 

With determined little huffs, you flapped your wings not enough to lift, but enough to help you scramble upward.

After a solid two minutes of climbing, slipping, and aggressively flapping, you finally hauled yourself onto the mattress.

You hop your way up to the sleeping figure.

Navi.

Now how were you gonna wake her?

You tapped your chin before deciding you’ll climb up on her bed board, it takes another minute of quiet struggling but you do get on top.

You shuffle until you're right above her and wait.

Five minutes pass before her alarm goes off, she groans and grogily reaches over to turn it off.

You grin and begin mimicking the same beeping sound of her alarm, watching her get frustrated as she presses the button over and over before reaching out to unplug the alarm.

You watch her face go from annoyed to confusion as she holds the cord then she glances up in your direction.

“You silly birdy” she reaches up and gently taps your head.

You immediately stopped mimicking the alarm and instead let out a bright, pleased chirp, tail feathers swishing proudly behind you.

Your task was completed.

You puff your feathers proudly as Navi sits up with a quiet yawn. She rubs at her eyes for a moment before lifting a hand toward you.

You immediately hop down onto her offered finger, claws curling around it with practiced ease as she stands from the bed.

𓅨𓅆•••𓅆𓅨

Navi shuffles down the hall toward the bathroom, still half-asleep. The lights flick on with a soft click, and the bright reflection of the mirror fills the room.

She sets you gently on the counter beside the sink.

The cool surface makes your talons curl slightly as you steady yourself, wings twitching once before settling against your back.

Navi begins brushing her teeth, moving slowly at first while she wakes up. Foam gathers at the corner of her mouth as she stares blankly at the mirror.

You make a chirp, she glances at you and hands you a tiny brush so you can brush your own teeth.

Normally it’d take forever to train a harpy to do this but you picked it up at an early age from watching her.

You both spit out the tooth paste and rinse out your mouths, you chirp happily it felt nice doing this routine you never got bored of it.

Navi reaches for a hair brush and begins brushing up her hair, you puff out your feather and squawk loudly to get her attention.

A few feathers stick out worse than before.

Navi glances down.

She pauses mid-brush.

“Expendy.”Her voice is calm, monotone as always.

She reaches over and gently smooths the feathers you just made worse, carefully guiding them back into place with practiced fingers.

You chirp happily, leaning into the attention.

Navi takes her time grooming you properly. Her fingers move carefully through your gray feathers, straightening them one by one, smoothing the fluff along your wings, like the way she’s always done since you were small enough to fit in her palms.

When she’s satisfied, she lifts one of your feet.

You obediently hold still as she cleans your talons, wiping away the little bits of dust that gathered overnight. She checks each claw like she always does, making sure none are cracked or chipped.

Giving you one last look over for any injuries before setting you down.

Once she's done she heads back toward her bedroom to get dressed for the day.

You scamper across the floor and leap onto your skateboard waiting near the wall. Your talons grip the board as you shove off with one foot, wings spreading slightly to help you balance.

The wheels roll smoothly across the floor.

You zoom down the hallway with a loud squeak of excitement.

You mimic the sound of a police siren as you race through the house, tail feathers flicking with every turn. The board rattles over the tiles while you zip around corners like you’ve done a thousand times before.

For a moment, it almost feels like flying, maybe it was you’d never know.

You speed past Navi’s legs just as she walks into the kitchen, nearly making her step pause as you whoosh by.

She doesn’t comment.

She’s already busy starting breakfast, moving quietly around the kitchen while you continue your very important patrol.

CRASH.

Your board smacks into the leg of the table.

You squawk as the sudden stop launches you forward, tumbling off the skateboard in a mess of gray feathers and flailing limbs before landing in an undignified heap on the floor.

The skateboard rolls a few feet away and spins slowly to a stop.

You bolt upright as though you didn’t crash head first.

You scramble to your feet and hurry into the kitchen, feathers still slightly crooked from the fall. Honestly, any other harpy probably would’ve broken a wing crashing like that.

But not you.

You’re sturdy.

Maybe it’s from years of falling, tumbling, tripping, and occasionally breaking things that should not be broken. Maybe your bones just decided to get stronger over time out of pure necessity.

Either way, very sturdy.

Your attention quickly shifts to the colorful rope tied to the handle of one of the kitchen drawers. The fibers are frayed and fuzzy from constant use, little threads sticking out from where your claws have worn it down over the years.

Your rope.

You hop up, grabbing it with both hands and climbing with practiced ease, wings fluttering to help you balance as you haul yourself up the cabinet.

Once on top of the kitchen counter you can smell the coffee and oatmeal, she is chopping up some fruit to go with her breakfast.

Peaches, bananas, blue berries and strawberries!

You love strawberries.

Your feathers puff up as you try to steal one from her hand,  taking a bit the juice immediately making a mess around your mouth.

she doesn’t frown nor comment on you stealing her strawberry.

If anything, she seems completely unbothered by the theft.

Instead, while you’re busy celebrating your victory, she calmly reaches into the nearby drawer.

Your attention is still focused on chewing when she quietly pulls something out.

A syringe.

She holds it casually behind her back, expression as blank and unreadable as ever.

Waiting for the right moment.

 You lick the last bit of strawberry juice from your lips.

That’s when she strikes.

She gently lifts your arm before you even realize what’s happening.

You let out an angry squawk as the needle pricks your skin.

You flap your wings in protest, feathers puffing out in offense as she injects the contents smoothly and quickly.

Apparently, it was something to keep you from becoming hormonal and broody.

The last time that happened, you’d apparently been a nightmare to live with pacing, biting, hoarding blankets, and attempting to sit on anything vaguely egg-shaped.

Still the syringes hurt.

You huff, feathers ruffled, glaring at her in mild betrayal.

She pulls the needle away calmly, unfazed by your dramatics.

Then, as if nothing happened, she offers you another slice of strawberry.

Your anger immediately softens.

A soft red ribbon.

Gently, she wraps it around your neck, tying it into a neat bow. The fabric rests lightly against your feathers, familiar and comfortable.

It functioned like a collar.

Something to make you easily identifiable in the unlikely event you ever escaped.

Not that you would, you loved it here.

Warm food.

Safety.

Morning routines.

And Navi.

What more could you possibly ask for?

Navi reaches out her hand, and you step up without hesitation. Your claws curl gently around her finger, the motion automatic  something you’ve done so many times it feels as natural as breathing.

She doesn’t even need to say anything.

You chirp softly, balancing as she lifts you.

The bookstore sits just below the apartment, the familiar scent of paper and ink greeting you the moment she opens the door.

Sunlight filters through the front windows, casting long golden lines across shelves packed with books.

Navi moves quietly, flipping on the lights one by one.

The soft hum fills the otherwise peaceful space.

She sets you down on the counter near your enclosure.

You hop down, claws clicking softly as you make your way inside.

The enclosure is open, just like always more of a designated space than a cage. A small perch, a soft blanket nest, a few toys scattered around from yesterday.

Home within home.

You settle in, fluffing your feathers as Navi walks toward the front door.

She flips the sign.

OPEN.

The bell above the door gives a small jingle as she unlocks it.

Another day begins.