Disclaimer: all rights belong to J K Rowling.

Special thanks to Herms (aka Prisoner of Azkaban711) for being very patient and editing this story :) Hail, Captain!

Written for QLFC, round 4 (Creature comforts), as Chaser 2 of Tornados.

Creature: owl

Optional prompts:

3. (quote) "Not all who wander are lost." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien

5. (dialogue) "You know, I don't really need you."

7. (image) webneel wallpaper/sites/default/files/images/04-2013/snowy-mountain-wallpaper. 1280. jpg

Word count: 1593 (without A/Ns)

Important, please read:

As this is Pigwidgeon's POV, I've deliberately made some errors. First of all, Pig refers to each human as 'it'. Secondly, he misspells and/or mispronounces some words and names, such as Tolkien (Talkwell), Lily (Lilies), Errol and Hermes (Hermol and Erres). Also, he mentions Tolkien's quote twice, and the first time he gets it wrong.

Also, Pigwidgeon refers to Sirius as Gray because of the man's eyes, and to Buckbeak as simply Beak.

Finally, a geographical note of mine. Pig is a Scops owl, and they mainly live in Southern Europe and Asia. We know Sirius probably hid somewhere in the tropics because of the exotic birds he used to communicate with Harry between PoA and GoF, so, in my headcanon, before reaching any tropical country, he must have stopped in Southern Europe, where he found Pigwidgeon. And if he was in Southern Europe, he must have crossed Pyrenees or Alps, which both are high and snowy mountains even in summer, hence the snowy mountain (the third prompt). I hope it makes sense.

Kihèw is the Scops owl call, according to the Internet. I hope it's right...

Read and enjoy (and review) :)

Kihèw, kihèw.

I'm bored.

Kihèw.

Now, where are those fellow owls? What are their human names again? Hermol and Erres? Well, never mind. I can't find them, anyway. And where is my red human? Oh, there it is. But no, it doesn't want me around, the stupid thing. I miss the previous one... Maybe it was not even human, but it was nice to me. I still remember our first meeting as if it were yesterday, and I like playing it in my head over and over.

That night, that urgent whistle from the keepers (we were a very well organised little group, you see) alarmed everybody... everybody but me. I've always prided myself to be above that sort of thing. Come on, we can fly, we are birds of prey, we are simply too perfect to let us be upset by anything. That's my opinion, at least. And... yes, I might have been curious, but that was not the main reason why I got close to that... that thing! I wished for freedom and that seemed a very good way to get it.

There were two of them, but not really, for they were so different from each other. The strange, taller being was muttering under its breath. It sounded as if it were speaking to the other strange creature by its side. What was that? Or rather, what were they?

My favorite creature was the one with the forked, muddy extremity. Despite having four legs, it used only two. How weird! I knew of such animals –humans they were called– but this was not one of them, was it?

I remember looking at it intently, trying to understand what it was. It resembled a human, but it didn't seem like one. Had it not been so very tall, I would have thought of a big stick insect. As it was, it could have been some kind of tree, had it not been for the fact that it spoke and walked. In any case, had it been a tree, where were its branches and roots? After reluctantly labelling it as a human being, for now, I got closer to it, to understand what it was actually mumbling.

I was young and rash, but I've never come to regret befriending it.

I was right over its head. I heard it talk about someone called... Talkwell, perhaps? Well, I was glad to know that at least one of those two-legged creatures was able to 'talk well', so that it had gained such a name. The one I was looking at certainly was not a Talkwell. Couldn't it properly enunciate? I had to struggle to understand it.

It was speaking in a tongue I had never heard before. In my country of origin, humans expressed themselves very differently, I was sure. Not to mention we owls too have a completely and highly developed language, which has no resemblance to the two-legged animals'.

Now I know what it was saying, though, because, for some reason, I've never forgotten those words which it was whispering to the other strange creature, and, most importantly, I've never forgotten its lenient tone, which drew me irresistibly towards the creature. Therefore, once I've learned the human's tongue, I've been able to decipher them.

"All won't wander who are lost..." was my favorite line. No, this is wrong. Let me think better of it... It was rather, "Not all who wander are lost. Lilies kept repeating it, so don't worry Buckbeak, we're alright. We may be wandering, we may be exiled, we may have to find our path, but the journey is worth it. Talkwell himself guarantees it."

I actually have yet to understand whether flowers can speak, and what a Talkwell truly is, but that's secondary.

Suddenly, the strangest thing ever happened. The strange animal, tree, thing (I was still unsure of what it was)... whatever... it turned into a dark, furry animal and collapsed. I flew off the branch I'd stayed on and landed near the black animal's nose. Then, ignoring my fellows' urgent calls and acute whistles, I made myself even bolder and stepped forward right on its left leg, making my way across it until I reached its back. It smelled very bad.

For some reason, I saw fit to wait until it woke up, which it did when I was almost giving in to sleep, as the fire globe had almost reached its highest point on the horizon.

It looked around lost, shaking off the last traces of weariness, and I flew a little way away, but not so much that it couldn't see me. I wished with all my might that it spotted me. I just knew it would have not have harmed me, which indeed it did not. The furry thing looked at me and just whimpered. Then, more swiftly than I could have believed it possible, it rose to its feet and licked me in a friendly gesture. How disgusting! I've been trying to forget that part since then. I had night terrors for a whole week. Fortunately, it must have noticed my distaste and turned into a stick insect, or rather human, once again. It expertly whistled and reached out to me.

Now, I was by no mean a fool, never have been, and I totally understood what I was about to do, but I did it, for the human, judging by its pleading eyes, clearly needed me as much as I needed it. In fact, if there was something I knew about human beings, it was the fact that some of them liked using us owls to deliver mails. Didn't it sound exciting? Yes, it did. I just hoped this being would be kind as it sounded.

We got to know each other for two-three days. I can't remember... I learned how to deliver messages basically everywhere, while we were travelling far away from my country of origin, but it had never been my home, so I was glad of it. I was just an orphan owlet, who needed to leave his group. We Scops owl usually live alone, but sometimes we gather into small groups. Well, I happened to dislike my colony and they usually avoided me, for I was, according to them, annoying and loud and bothersome. Unbelievable, isn't it? Knowing they want to get rid of me, I thought I'd facilitate their task... I left with the two strangers.

Kihèw.

We were just the three us. It was so perfect. Beak carried us, Gray (I knew this was not its real name, but never cared) got us food, and I? I merely enjoyed their company, delivering occasional notes to and from nearby villages, when the human saw it fit and safe.

I came to actually care for Gray, mostly because he (yes, I finally understood it was not an 'it', but a 'he') liked stroking my smooth feathers and praising me. He said I was very useful and restored his faith in something which I couldn't understand. It didn't mind. It felt very good.

All went well until... until the fatal day, when Gray spoke me those tragic words, "You know, I don't really need you anymore. In a few hours, I'll be hidden in that forest you can spot in the distance. There, I'll find shelter. I won't use you anymore to deliver mails anywhere near. But there is a last favor I ask of you. I mean, we'll get to see each other again, but there is a boy I wish you'd deliver this mail, and another boy I wish you'd be able to cherish. He's loyal and caring. They both need you more than I do. You'll have to watch their backs, and I'd like to have some periodical reports to me. Please, it's important to me."

Kihèw.

I couldn't deny him anything, but I was upset, nevertheless. I couldn't forgive him so soon for wishing to abandon me. Not to mention, he had already tried to kill me: I had almost died from cold because of a snowy mountain... We Scops owls need hot weather, HOT! And I had found myself in a totally hostile environment. Sure, the sun was peering above a evergreen tree, its orange light reflecting in the water of the river, but wherever I cast my gaze I could only see snow and icicles and rock. I was hungry, but certainly there were no insects, and had there been any, it was too cold for me to lie in wait on a tree. We all survived just because of some very nice people who lived there. Their house was camouflaged into the background, but we saw it, at last, thanks to the light on in the window and the smoke coming out of the chimney.

So, what was he thinking of doing now? Sending me to my death again?

I whistled as loud as I could for hours, aggressively blowing and making menacing noises with my beak, while widening my huge, orange eyes.

I'm ashamed to confess that it didn't work.

After I had been given the letter, we parted. The two of them continued south-west, while I went to north-east, pretty unaware of what I could find in front of me, but determined to succeed.

Kihèw, kihèw.

Needless to say, I succeeded, of course. How could I not? And now, here I am, surrounded by strange red-headed animals, who think I'm a pig... Well, I'd never admit it, but I happen to like them.

Alright, meal time now.

Kihèw.