[NOTES] The 'Ferals' view themselves in the third person from their POV. [/NOTES] Fang walked to the center of the rooftop, dropping me unceremoniously, while Naser made chortling noises as I landed face-down. Ow for the physical pain and ouch for the emotional pain. They gave me a moment to sit up straight as they seemed to be discussing something, although I could barely make sense of the chirps and chortles, I could see clearly that they were having a disagreement of some kind as Naser kept glancing at me while Fang bristled in response. I watched the siblings, noticing the immediate changes in them. Their fingers were crooked, their feet grew into talons, their wingspans wider, their crests sharper and, most notably, their eyes were sharper, as if they’d shred any self they once had. I glanced around, considering jumping off the rooftop… What am I, stupid? A jump like that would kill me! Even if I did manage to survive the fall, they would just swoop back down to get their much easier to kill prey. There’s nothing to say they would let me try and make a grappling hook or something anyway even if I had the materials. So after thorough assessment of the situation, I can now declare that I am royally fucked. I turned back to see if their argument was still continuing and it seemed to be coming to an end as Naser was sulking, any noise he tried to make was cut off by Fang, who had her chest puffed out triumphantly. Her? Their? Does it matter? I doubt she’d get mad at me if I called her by female pronouns now. At least I don’t have to worry about my cause of death being ‘misgendering a dinosaur’ anymore. I turned completely to the two of them, scratching my chin as I started thinking of a way out of this. If Fang still fights with Naser like she used to, then they could respond to their names, right? Maybe they could even recall their memories before all of this. It’s not like I have anything left to lose, so it’s worth a shot. I cleared my throat, grabbing their attention as I turned to Naser first. “Naser, do you recognize me?” Naser seemed to react to the name, looking at me with more interest than before. I don’t really think that’s a look of recognition, but at least he didn’t peck my brains out. I turn to Fang next, who eyes me suspiciously as I open my mouth to speak. “Fang, do you recognize me?” She gave the same reaction as Naser did, nothing more and nothing less. Once again, my noggin remains safe from impalement. It’s good to know they react to their names at least. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they remember me though. But I can work with that… I just have to figure out a way to keep them at bay before they start craving some fine dining. Speaking of which, I spot Naser looking at me hungrily, but a look from Fang shuts down any move he makes as he returns to sulking. So that’s probably what they were discussing earlier… whether he could take a bite out of me or not. I shudder imagining those teeth digging into my skin and shake the thought away. Anyways, reckless physical contact is a no-go after what happened downstairs. If I want to keep my head on my shoulders I have to keep my hands to myself first. Man, I really should have stayed home today… POV SHIFT – LUCY AARON Once she had dropped the human, Naser had let out a chortle that grated on her nerves. Even more infuriating, he had the audacity to ask for a piece of the human. Just a morsel, he said. I’m the older of us two so I should be the one to decide, she responded. They went back and forth until he submitted, as he should have, she thought. She puffed her chest out in victory as her brother sulked, now to go back to– a noise from the human interrupted her flow of thought. The two whirled around to face the human as he looked like he wanted to say something. “Naser, do you recognize me?”, he asked. They were both surprised, especially Naser who looked interested in him, though she was more suspicious. “Fang, do you recognize me?”, he spoke again, calling her name this time. Her interest piqued, she looked closer at the human, who went silent, eliciting a frown from her. Now that her interest was lost, she looked around at their new… home, a wide open space surrounded by some sort of barrier. An image nagged in the back of her head, a memory of this place, associated with pain, regret and… relief. In the midst of it all, she also remembered the human. A strange association, she thought. Her head swiveled to face the human, who simply stared at the floor. She decided to investigate later and focused on her priorities. First, they needed a nest, she thought. She couldn’t take Naser with her as one, his wings are crippled, two, the human would be left alone and would try to escape, she assumed. She can’t leave him to guard the human either as he might try to eat him while she is gone. It didn’t take long for her to think of a plan. She turned to Naser, who jolted at her piercing gaze. We need to build a nest, she said. Then go get materials, he retorted. I will, but I’m taking the human with me, she replied calmly. You can’t do that, he all but shouted. Why not, she rebutted with a sharp gaze as he shrunk from her gaze. Good, wait here, she ordered as she approached the human, who looked up hearing her claws tap on the floor with each footstep. The human tried to speak, however she had no time to listen to him, leaning closer to get a hold of him… when a memory struck her again, this time of her face colliding against his cheek. When did that happen? Why did it affect her so much? The sudden image threw her off slightly and… Disaster struck. POV SHIFT – ANON Y. MOUS Those two had started arguing again, but I didn’t even bother to pay them any heed. What’s the point? Not only can I not understand their language and have to interpret it off of their actions, they’re going to use me for food later down the line anyways. My flow of thought was interrupted by a tapping noise, which caught my attention as I raised my head, seeing Fang standing right in front of me. I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t know what to say. Would she even understand any of it? While I was thinking of what to say she started to lean closer and my heart rate spiked out of the blue. It didn’t help either that I felt heat creep across my cheeks, thankfully she didn’t notice. Oh what the hell, am I really falling for a monster that’s about to make mincemeat out of me? Get a hold of yourself Anon! Wait, why is she coming closer— Crack. Ow. I’m pretty sure I broke something. Hm… whatever I’m pressing my face against doesn’t feel like concrete though, I should know. I opened my eyes and to say they were as big as saucers would be an understatement. The same could be said for Fang, as her eyes were as wide and staring right into mine as our faces connected. My lips were on her snou… snoot, just barely pressing against it. I saw emotions flash in her eyes, cycling from confusion to shock to anger to… something I couldn’t identify, then back to confusion as she recoiled, while I was still in shock. Naser on the other hand, overcame his shock faster and looked like he was absolutely livid. That can’t be good. Just as he was about to charge, Fang gripped my jacket by her beak, running to the gap in the chain-link fence and… wait, she isn’t going to throw me off is she? To answer my question, she did, in fact, throw me over the edge before jumping off herself. Shiiit. I think I’m falling to my deaAAAA— Luckily for me, she gripped my jacket with her talons, catching me before I became Anon Y. Sauce as she flapped her wings, flying off with me in tow to who knows where. From what I could see below me, we were flying past the city and to a forest on the horizon. Now I understand why they tell you not to look down as I felt a wave of nausea. To distract myself, I looked up at Fang who was trying her best to look away from me as her face was beet red. I looked away myself, opting to just look at the clouds as I felt heat creep across my face again. Raptor Jesus on a cross of rock, this is awkward. POV SHIFT — LUCY AARON As she flew with the human, she was fighting an internal war with her feelings after what had happened on the rooftop. What was that and why do I feel so strange, she wondered as she recalled what had happened. At first she was confused about the sudden memory, then the shock of the contact hit her, then anger flushed within her at the audacity of the human, then… an emotion she couldn’t describe. It made her heart beat faster as heat crossed her face and what she couldn’t understand only served to frustrate her as the confusion returned. Trying to focus on something else, once they’d reached the forest, she dropped the human flat on his back and landed next to him, trudging off to gather materials. Gathering was something that helped her mind to concentrate as she worked, picking as many sticks and stones as she could. So busy gathering to push her troublesome thoughts and feelings away, she didn’t notice how much she’d gathered. Her dilemma was realized once she had brought the materials back to the human, who looked at her with a strange look. “You know you can’t carry all those, right?” The human said and though it sounded unintelligible to her, she understood the general meaning. She dropped everything she was holding with a dejected look, as she had gathered too much for her to take with her. The human looked at her with a look of contemplation, before taking his jacket off. She tilted her head, watching him and wondering what he was going to do. The human spread his jacket out and placed every stick and stone within, then wrapped it all up, tying it into a bundle. “There. Problem solved, isn’t it?”, the human spoke. She didn’t know how to react, considering she was saving the human for food later, and here he is helping her. She simply softened her gaze and gripped onto his shirt, motioning for him to hold the bundle, after which they took off again. POV SHIFT – ANON Y. MOUS As soon as we touched down, the first thing I did was drop the bundle and shake my arms like I was imitating a bird because HOLY SHIT, THEY HURT. Even more, I heard Fang make some noise that sounded like a mimicry of laughter. She stopped seeing me whirl on her but still had an amused look on her face. I refuse to be ridiculed by an overgrown punk chicken, but her smile is infectious and I find myself smiling as well. However, our moment is cut short by commotion from… outside the school? Fang seemed to have heard it as well, although Naser is still snoring away. I creep over to the side of the rooftop while Fang follows and… sweet Raptor Jesus. The cars parked that weren’t there before… the flush of color around the entrance… the angry voices… all of these could only mean one thing. The parents are here. This won’t be pretty.