A/N-A short one shot inspired by the ravens that live outside my apartment. And yes, I did name them Rigby, Roxas, Kaanan and Jeff. It's amazing what sort of inspiration hits you when you procrastinate. :P Read and enjoy!
Roxas peeked out from between the flowers as a group of students passed by. He was nervous they would see him, but they paid him no attention as they went on laughing to their jokes. His wings pressed tighter against his tiny body. A pop of color caught his eye and he watched as the red head passed by. Roxas shifted to try and see him better. He wanted to hop out and say hello but he couldn't.
He was a raven.
No human would understand him. Even his own friends hardly understood him. Roxas felt saddened as the man walked off and disappeared from view. His chest sighed, his feathers sagging. He had been so hopeful today was the day he would say hello but he was, once again, too intimidated by the humans.
Roxas squawked as something nipped his tail feather. He whirled around to find Jeff laughing at him, nearly rolling on the group in hysterics. Roxas's eyes narrowed.
"That wasn't funny!" he protested. Jeff snickered and swatted Roxas with his wing.
"You're such a wimp!" Jeff commented.
"Am not!"
"Are too." Jeff walked up to Roxas and towered over him. Roxas shrunk back as he tried desperately to sink into the dirt. He was already small for a raven but Jeff had always been a bully to him.
"Leave me alone," Roxas requested quietly, averting his gaze. Jeff pecked him on the head, making Roxas flinch.
"You're so pathetic. What's so interesting about humans anyway? They're loud, dirty and run you over with their machines."
"That's not true!" Roxas received another peck to his skull. "Maybe a little…"
"Admit it. There's nothing interesting about humans." Roxas remained silent, wishing the dirt would swallow him up. "Why do you sit here at the same time every day?" Jeff pressed. He walked around Roxas and looked out at the humans as they made their way to class on campus. "This is so boring."
"It's fun to watch them," Roxas muttered, inching away from Jeff. Jeff cawed, his version of a snort.
"You're so pathetic." Jeff took off from the bushes and made sure he hit as many leaves as he could so they rained on top of Roxas's head. The small raven closed his eyes as the leaves pelted him.
"I'm not pathetic," he mumbled. Roxas hopped out of the bushes, as to not disturb the flowers, and took off into the sky. His eyes scanned the college campus below. The streets were quieting down as classes started. Roxas banked towards the back of the campus towards the dorms. He spotted a fleck of red as it stepped into an apartment complex. Roxas slowly descended and gently landed on the branch of a tree. The tree had seen its better days. Half of it was dead so the branches were barren of foliage.
Roxas fluttered over to a different branch near a window on the side of the building. He waited patiently. The light in the room flicked on and Roxas watched the man drop his backpack onto the floor. Then he walked over to his desk, perched under the window, and pulled his laptop towards him. The man's eyes drifted upward. He smiled. Then he returned to his laptop and began typing.
Roxas simply watched as the man typed away at his computer. He had discovered the strange red head purely by accident one day. The man did a lot of typing or writing at his desk, his green eyes focused on the words he poured on to the pages. Roxas was always curious to what he was writing exactly but he couldn't read human language so it was useless to try and find out. Occasionally, the red haired man would glance out smile at Roxas. If it was a nice day, the man would open his window so Roxas could hear what he was doing.
Roxas broke his train of thought as the man folded his hands in front of his mouth. His eyes were deep in thought. I wonder what he's thinking about. Roxas mused. Several long minutes later the man rested his chin on his propped elbow. He seemed stuck. If I knew what he was thinking about I would help him out. But then again, I'm a raven. What could I do? Roxas waited for a bit longer. The man finally rose with a huff and walked off. Roxas's heart sank. He took off into the sky towards his nest, hoping the next day would be better.
^o,o^
"Hey! Heyheyheyheyheyheyheyhey, Roxas!" Rigby called out. The raven poked a talon at the sleeping bird. "ROXAS! WAKE UP!" Rigby cawed. The younger raven blinked a couple of times and looked up at his energetic friend.
"Morning Rigby," he greeted sleepily.
"Guess what I found!" Rigby said hopping around.
"Um, something cool?" Roxas guessed.
"I found a beach!"
"A beach…"
"Yeah! Comecomecomecomecome! You gotta come check it out!" Rigby tugged at Roxas's tail feathers.
"Alright, alright, I'm up." Roxas stretched out his wings and shook his head to clear it. Rigby shot up into the sky and the younger raven followed. He was led to the middle of campus where a patch of grass split two different parking lots. It was flooded from the mass of fall rain they had last week. Rigby bounced on the edge of the water, the grass squishing beneath his talons.
"Look, a new beach!" he said excitedly. Roxas scanned the flooded patch of grass. It was filled with various beer cans, pop bottle dividers and empty chip bags. Roxas took a hesitant step back.
"I don't know. It doesn't look safe."
"It's not supposed to be safe. It's an adventure!" Rigby walked into the water so it was around his tiny ankles. Roxas always felt the need to chuckle or roll his eyes when Rigby walked. It was more of a waddle, his tail feather swinging back and forth. If he remembered correctly, the humans called it "walking with swag". But then Rigby was just as popular with the humans as he was with the ravens. His silly antics just made him charming.
Rigby fluttered over to a beer can and landed on it. It bobbed dangerously as it threatened to sink. He turned back to Roxas. "Hey! Come on!" he called. Roxas shrunk back. Rigby fluttered over to another can and cawed as it sank. He quickly recovered and landed on a hubcap stuck in the dirt.
Roxas took a deep breath and flew out to the beer can Rigby had landed on earlier. His feet became wet as the can sank. He quickly panicked but the can stayed afloat. He flew out to a pop bottle bobbing along. As he landed, it rolled and Roxas lost his balance. He cawed as he hit the water. He frantically flapped his wings and flew to the safety of a sapling. His feathers were wet and cold. He flicked his wings to try and rid them of the moisture.
"Careful!" Rigby warned as he attempted to land on a bag of chips with no success. Roxas's heart sank.
"I'm no good at this," he tried to reason. Rigby gave up on his bag of chips and flew over to the sapling. He landed next to Roxas and nudged his friend.
"It's okay! You did really well until the bottle turned. If you tried it again I'm sure you could make it." Roxas averted his gaze.
"No thanks." Rigby nudged his friend again.
"Okay, no pressure. Is there something you would rather do?" Roxas perked up a bit. Rigby was a bit wild but he was kind.
"Well, it's kind of boring," Roxas admitted.
"Awh, it can't be that bad! Let's go!" Rigby lifted a wing, offering Roxas to lead to way. The smaller raven leapt into the sky with the elder close behind. Roxas landed on the sidewalk and hopped into the patch of flowers. Rigby waddled inside and looked around. "Ooh, this is cool. What do we do in here?"
"People watch." Rigby looked through the flowers at the empty sidewalk.
"But there's no one here."
"You have to wait for transition times between classes."
"Ah. Why not do this from a tree or something? Isn't that what we normally do?" Roxas shuffled his talons in the dirt.
"I like it here. The flowers are nice and you get a different view." Rigby looked dubious. He settled down in the dirt next to Roxas and waited. Roxas wondered how long he would wait as Rigby wasn't typically patient. He was glad to see Rigby perk up as someone passed by.
"Whoa! He looks huge!" Rigby hissed. Soon the sidewalks were busy as students started making their way to classes. Roxas watched as the people walked by without a care besides what homework they were planning to work on. He glanced over at Rigby and found the raven was actually intrigued. Roxas stood a little bit taller, happy his friend was enjoying himself.
His eye caught a speck of red coming from the left. Roxas hopped over to the edge of the flower bed and watched the red head make his way to class. He was busy staring at a device in his hand with strange wires in his ears. Roxas felt something looming over him. He turned to find Rigby's head above his.
"Who's that?" Rigby whispered.
"Just some guy," Roxas muttered.
"Doesn't seem like it."
"What do you mean?"
"Roxas, the second he appeared you were all over him like a spilled bag of chips." The smaller raven shrank back slightly.
"He's just really nice. He smiles at me."
"Really?" Roxas cawed as Rigby shoved him out of the flowers.
"RIGBY!" he cried desperately. Roxas shrank back as a shadow passed over him. The red head passed by without looking up from his device. Roxas shrank back. He darted into the flowers and pressed himself against the building behind the flower bed, burying his head in his feathers. Rigby was quiet. He waddled over and tapped Roxas with a talon hesitantly.
"Roxas?" The raven didn't reply. "Look, I'm sorry I pushed you."
"He didn't even notice me…" Roxas mumbled. Rigby sat next to Roxas and pressed their sides together.
"He was probably too preoccupied with his ear-thingy. If he had heard you, he would have noticed." Roxas lifted his head.
"You think?"
"Definitely! You're too cool not to notice! Don't worry about it, Roxas. Maybe he'll notice you on the way back from class."
"I doubt it." Rigby nudged him.
"Don't be so glum." Roxas continued to sulk. Rigby nuzzled the younger's neck with his beak. "Today was fun! I'm glad you came to hang out with me. Not many of the others do. Next time we do this, if he doesn't notice you I'll poop all over his head." Roxas chortled softly. "That's the spirit!" Rigby gave Roxas a reassuring nudge before standing. "I'll see you later, Roxas!" Rigby waddled out of the flowers and flew off.
Roxas was left alone to his thoughts. After awhile, he managed to push himself off the ground and wander over to the edge of the flowers. He looked out at the bright blue sky. What am I doing here? He wondered. I feel so out of place. Roxas sighed and looked around for something to watch.
He was greatly disappointed when leaves erupted on is head.
"Still here," Jeff commented dryly, folding his wings. Roxas chose to ignore him. "Still looking for humans to watch?" Silence. "Well, aren't you grumpy today." Jeff nipped Roxas's tail feathers.
"Cut it out!" the smaller protested.
"I would if you stopped ignoring me." Roxas's chest puffed up angrily. The sidewalks became busy as the first wave of students began as they made their way to class. Roxas watched them stubbornly while Jeff picked at a beetle on the ground. There was a lull in the traffic before it picked up again as students made their way back from class. Roxas scanned the crowd wildly until he spotted the red head.
Okay, Roxas. You can do this. Just hop out and say hello. Roxas felt like his feet were frozen to the ground. He squawked as Jeff swatted him with a wing.
"What's with you? You look so starry eyed. See something you like?"
"Leave me alone," Roxas grumbled. Jeff looked out at the students and spied the red head Roxas's eyes were glued to.
"Oh, so it's a human you like. That's incredibly depressing."
"Shut up!" Roxas hissed. Jeff burst out laughing. Then he towered over Roxas.
"Know you're place, runt!" Jeff gave Roxas a hard peck. Roxas squeaked and darted out of the flowers. He quickly took to the sky but Jeff was larger, thus faster. The larger raven quickly overtook him. Jeff collided with Roxas in the air and they spiraled downward. Jeff let go at the last second and landed safely while Roxas landed messily. Roxas painfully got to his feet.
Jeff lashed out at him again and Roxas shrank back. There was a loud caw and Jeff backed away. A large raven landed between the pair and hissed at Jeff. "Leave Roxas alone!" he demanded.
"Always coming to protect him, Kaanan," Jeff spat. "You can't protect him forever!"
"I'll watch over him so long as you're around," Kaanan replied. Jeff hissed and took off. He didn't want to mess with the strongest raven on campus. Kaanan turned to Roxas. "Are you okay?" Roxas shakily bobbed his head.
"Yeah. I'll be fine," Roxas lied.
"Are you hurt?"
"I said I'll be fine." Roxas tried to fly off but his wing hurt. He collapsed on the ground and his heart sank.
"I doubt it." Kaanan walked over and helped Roxas stand. "You shouldn't talk with Jeff. You know how much he likes to pick on you."
"I don't go actively seeking him out," Roxas defended. Kaanan was quiet. He didn't speak much but Roxas could tell he was concerned. "I'll be more careful," the smaller raven murmured.
"Alright. Try not to hurt yourself. Can you make it back to your nest?"
"I think so." Kaanan bobbed his head and took off. Roxas watched him leave. Then he was alone. His entire body ached. Roxas spied a bit of color off in the distance. His heart soared. He still had a chance to see the man today. Roxas quickly hopped across the courtyard towards the dying tree.
His eyes drifted upwards as he reached the base of the tree. His wing was throbbing but it was the only way to get to the branches. Roxas braced himself and flapped upwards. Each wing beat felt like his wing was getting ripped off. He landed shakily on a branch and took a deep breath to steady himself.
At least I can hop between the branches now. Roxas hopped higher and higher until he came to the one by the window. The red haired man was staring blankly at a piece of paper on his desk. His pen bounced between his fingers as his mind drifted. Roxas hopped to a closer branch. The wood snapped with a loud crack. Roxas cawed and flapped wildly to regain a foothold. The branch landed on the ground with a thud. Roxas pinched his eyes shut as his wing throbbed painfully.
As the pained lessened, he slowly opened his eyes. He found a worried pair of green ones staring back at him. The man stood and pulled open his window. Then he fiddled with the screen. It popped out of the window with a snap and he set it aside. Roxas backed away until he bumped into the trunk of the tree. The man crawled on top of his desk and looked out at Roxas.
"Hey, you're hurt," he said softly. Roxas glanced down and saw his wing was limp by his side instead of being tucked nicely. He cursed his unfortunately luck. The man sat on the edge of his window awkwardly and reached a hand out to Roxas. "Can I help you? Or am I too scary?" he asked with a smile. Roxas wasn't sure what to do. There was no way he was flying home with a limp wing yet he was scared to what the human was going to do.
He perked up as he heard a rustle. The man had a bag of wavy chips. He offered one to Roxas in his palm. Roxas's eyes locked onto the prize. He hobbled over and hopped to a branch closer to the window. His beak snapped at the chip, a faint flavor of spicy cheese coating his palate. The man reached out and scratched the top of Roxas's head with a finger.
"You're awfully friendly," he commented, offering Roxas another chip. Roxas ate it up and hopped onto the man's arm. He reached over and grabbed the bag of chips from the man's grasp. It made the man laugh. "Okay, the chips are yours." The man set Roxas down on his large desk and climbed back inside the window. Roxas happily buried his head in the foil bag and snacked on his treat.
Roxas jumped as his wing pained. He cawed loudly and the man frowned. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It doesn't seem broken, but then again I'm not vet." He walked to a room off to the side. Roxas watched him as he worked with a bottle and some magic water that flowed on command. The man brought the water out to him and set it on the desk. Roxas dipped his beak inside and drank gratefully.
When he lifted his head, he found the man watching him from his chair with a tiny smile on his face. Roxas ruffled his feathers. He found the pain was starting to lessen in his wing. Hesitantly, he folded it against his body. It felt much better.
"You're doing better already," the man noticed. He reached out and scratched the raven's head with his finger again. Roxas closed his eyes and nuzzled the man's hand. "You like that?" The red head chuckled. "My name's Axel. Do you have a name?"
Axel. Roxas thought happily. The man finally had a name. He cawed his name softly but of course the human didn't understand. Axel chuckled.
"Well, you can stay for as long as you like. I'm not sure how up you are to flying yet." Roxas sat down on the desk and let the man continue to rub his finger gently on his neck. Axel suddenly stopped and returned to the side room. When he returned, he hand a small towel. He roughly shaped it into a circle around Roxas. "There. Now you have a nest." Roxas stood and adjusted the towel around him. Then he settled back down. It was surprisingly comfy. He began to doze off as Axel started typing away on his computer.
When he woke, it was dark outside. Roxas couldn't see much but he felt the cool air come from the window. He left it open for me. Roxas thought. He nestled down into his towel and curled up to go back to sleep.
^o,o^
"Hey there," Axel called out as Roxas slowly woke up the next morning. "Ready to go?" Roxas blinked the sleep from his eyes and stretched his wings. The one was a bit sore but he felt like he could fly with it. "I think your friends are waiting for you." Roxas tilted his head to the side. Axel pointed out the window. Roxas hopped over to the window sill and saw a pair of ravens down on the lawn below.
Rigby and Kaanan.
"Hey!" Rigby called. "Roxas! Are you okay?!"
"I'm alright. I'll be down in a bit," Roxas called down. Kaanan simply bobbed his head.
"Sounds like you're ready to see them too," Axel commented. He grabbed the towel and scooped Roxas up inside of it. Roxas became frightened as Axel brought him through the apartment. He started to struggle. "Shh, it's okay. I'm just bringing you outside. I'll be over soon. Shh," Axel cooed. Roxas lessened his struggles. Axel stepped out into a hallway and then stepped into a tiny room. Roxas wondered why they had stepped into a room with only one way in and out. When the door opened again, he was in awe as the floor had changed.
It's a magic room! Roxas thought excitedly. Axel brought Roxas to the door and stepped outside. The raven was set down gently on the steps.
"There you go. Stay out of trouble," Axel requested. He smiled and nuzzled Roxas's neck with his finger. Then he headed back inside. Roxas watched him leave sadly. He had started to enjoy his spot on the man's, Axel's, desk. Roxas turned away and hopped down the stairs. Rigby and Kaanan were waiting for him.
"Hi!" Rigby greeted excitedly. He gave Roxas a gentle nudge. "See? He noticed you!"
"Guys, there's a magic room in the building!" Roxas cawed excitedly. "After you get inside, the door opens to a new room!"
"That's so crazy!"
"And they can command water to flow!"
"Humans certainly are a strange species," Kaanan commented. Roxas couldn't agree more.
^o,o^
Roxas looked up to find he was falling behind. Rigby was off on his own again while Kaanan was a few wingspans away. Roxas hurried after the larger raven so they were closer together. He didn't like being left behind, although with Rigby he left everyone one behind.
"Find anything?!" Rigby called.
"No!" Roxas called back. They were looking for treasure out in the courtyard. Anything shiny was always a good find. Last week Rigby was lucky and found a bobby pin.
"Here," Kaanan offered. He handed Roxas a dull looking penny. Roxas accepted it happily.
"Thanks," he beamed. Kaanan merely bobbed his head and started walking away.
Roxas took his penny up to his nest and tucked it against all his other treasures: a fake diamond, a pop tab, a colorful piece of string, the back of an earring, and a pen cap. Roxas beamed at his small collection. It was nowhere near as large as Rigby's but he was proud of it.
His head perked up as the sky darkened. Dark clouds were cast over the sky. Roxas flew down to his friends. "Hey, I think it might rain," he called out. Kaanan looked up at the sky.
"Indeed. I'm going to head to my nest then. See you two later," he said before he flew off. Roxas hopped over to Rigby.
"Are you heading back too?" he asked.
"Naw. I'm going to go look for treasure under the bleachers. That way I'll stay dry and I can find more fun stuff."
"Don't you have enough stuff?" Rigby shot him a bemused look.
"Roxas. One does not simply have too much stuff. It's a fact of life." Roxas chortled.
"Alright. Have fun." Rigby gave a bow and took off towards the bleachers before the rain picked up. Roxas checked the sky. "I might have some time before the rain starts," he muttered to himself. Roxas took off and glided towards the drying tree. He found Axel's window was open although the man himself was missing. Roxas hopped inside and settled down on the desk.
It had been several weeks since Axel brought him in but the man still hadn't returned the screen to his window. If anything, he left his window open more often so Roxas could visit. Axel usually left out chips or raisins for the raven to snack on. Sometimes Roxas would simply sit on the desk and listen to the man type away on his computer.
Roxas looked up as he heard the door open. The light was flicked on and in came Axel. The man smiled at the sight of the raven. "Hey!" he greeted. He gave Roxas his customary head rub. "Hiding up here while it rains?" Roxas cawed lightly. "I guess I can't say no since it's probably dryer than your nest, but I'll have to shut the window so the water doesn't get in." As if on cue, the sound of rushing water spattered against the ground. Axel waited a moment for Roxas to decide. The raven curled up in his towel on the corner of the desk. Axel smiled and shut the window.
Roxas listened to the man type away as the rain turned into a hefty storm outside. The raven was glad he wasn't out there. He looked over to Axel. He was busy being focused on his work. Roxas squawked as a loud peal of thunder rolled through the sky. Then the lights went out.
"Shit," Axel swore. He quickly saved his progress as his laptop started to run on the battery. Roxas looked out the window as streaks of water ran down the pane. He heard Axel get up from his chair and leave the room.
I hope he's bringing snacks. Roxas pondered. He stepped out from his nest and went to the window. He couldn't even see outside. I hope Kaanan and Rigby are okay. Roxas jumped as another loud peal of thunder rumbled. He scurried to the other side of Axel's computer to hide only to get distracted. A soft white glow emulated from the computer. Roxas peered at the markings on the screen. What do they mean?
Roxas shrieked as lightning struck the dying tree outside Axel's window. The glass in the window blew out and Roxas was flung off of the desk. His entire body was in pain. He heard loud footsteps as Axel hurried back to his room.
"What the fuck?!" he shouted over the roar of thunder. He clicked on a flashlight and looked around at the mess. Axel quickly scooped his computer from the desk and hid it in a safe location. He grabbed a towel from the bathroom and pinned it on the wall over the hole in the window. Then he looked around. "I wonder if he flew off." Axel swept the flashlight around the room. The beam of light froze on his bed.
There lay Roxas, crumpled and unmoving.
"Oh no…" Axel rushed over and picked up the raven. He tried to feel for a heartbeat. "I'm so sorry." Axel cradled the raven against his chest. He felt a hot tear slip down his cheek. Axel had become good friends with the bird and a part of him refused to let the raven go.
The wind outside gusted so hard it ripped the towel from the wall. Axel pressed Roxas closer to his chest as the wind buffeted him. It swirled around the room, knocking down picture frames and ripping posters from the walls. Axel felt like he was on the inside of a tornado.
"Let go," a voice called out to him. Axel looked around wildly.
"What?" he cried.
"Let me go."
"No! He's hurt enough as it is!" Axel protested.
"Trust me." Axel clutched Roxas tighter to his chest. The wind grew worse. Axel felt water streaming down his face as his tried to see in the turbulent gale. He slowly released Roxas's body and it was swept up by the wind. There was a bright flash of lightning. When he vision adjusted, he moved the beam from the flashlight to the center of the room. Axel's eyes slowly grew wide.
The raven slowly changed. Its body grew long and thin. Pale skin shone through beneath the black feathers. Soft golden hair blew gently in the wind. Then the gale vanished. Before Axel stood a boy that looked like he was around sixteen. On the outsides of his arms were long black feathers slanted upwards. When then reached his shoulders, the feathers were small and folded against each other. They cascaded in a thin line down his spine towards the feathery skirt hiding his legs. The teen's chest was bare as were his feet. From each temple jutted two black feathers that shot back along the sides of his head. The teen opened his eyes, revealing them to be a stunning blue.
Axel could only gape.
The teen smiled softly. "Axel," he said gently. He held out a hand. "My name is Roxas." Axel hesitantly took it. The man tried to find words. Roxas stepped forward and pulled Axel to his feet. "I'm afraid this is goodbye."
"W-wait…w-what?" Axel stammered.
"My frail body could not survive, but I will watch over you." Roxas placed his hands on the sides of Axel's face. He leaned upwards and kissed him gently on the lips. Axel blinked as his brain tried to process what was happening. Roxas took as step back. "Goodbye…Axel." A torrent of wind swept through the room. It swirled around Roxas and then he was gone.
Axel remained standing in the middle of the room. "What just happened?" he asked himself, his fingers brushing his tingling lips.
^o,o^
Axel opened the door to his new apartment. It wasn't the same. The window didn't have as nice of a view and it seemed to be lacking something. Axel went to his desk. A long black feather sat in a vase on the corner of his desk. He stared at it sadly.
"Roxas…" he breathed.
He was jerked back to reality as something smashed into his window. Axel hurried over and looked down. There was a dark mass on the ground a few floors below. Axel grabbed his keys and hurried outside. He found the mass sitting up and shaking its head. Axel slowed his approach.
It was a raven.
The bird seemed to have righted itself and walked around a bit. Axel couldn't help but chuckle at its silly walk, tail feathers swinging side to side. The bird suddenly took to the sky. Axel watched it soar into the clouds with a smile pulling at the edges of his lips.
A/N-Reviews? Feedback? Requests? Snacks? (Mmmm, snacks :D)