Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Sailor Moon. All characters remain the sole property of their owners and I am making no money from this.
Birds were supposed to eat fish.
It is the law of the jungle, the strict rules of eating anything weaker or smaller than you were the basis of their lives. Even in human form they still were bound by those laws. He had never really thought about it but when they found out the truth it explained a lot of things. Like why he always had an irresistible urge to get up at dawn and stand on the roof of the circus, watching the sun rise. Why Tiger's eye always seemed to Prowl around the sandy floor and have cravings for fish, something that annoyed the only girl in their group.
Fish-eye. Lovely Angel-fish eye. For so long they had thought she was unaffected by their animal status. Until one bright summers morning he had not even noticed her except to choose which victim they would take in the search for Pegasus that day…
The sun had risen completely, shining it's golden rays onto the man's hair and warming his featherless arms. He sat down on the balcony's edge, thinking about the numerous failures the trio had endured. All they wanted was to see a beautiful dream, was that too much to ask? Apparently it was.
A flash of light down below caught his attention. He peered over the edge, seeing the large pool fish-eye had insisted on. A wave of blue shone back up at him and the purple haired man gulped as his heart started hammering. Running down the stairs he hid behind a pillar as the only female in their group swam lazily around the pool.
Her long blue hair fanned out behind the petite fish as she swam lazily up and down the pool. The mans fingers twitched, wanting to reach out and touch her.
He didn't know it at the time, but later on that day (after the required failed attempt at finding Pegasus) it finally hit him.
He had found his dream.
The man sat alone at the bar. Swishing the sweet liquid around the glass Hawk's eye let his mind indulge in one of it's pleasant fantasies. In it was Fish eye, they had left the circus behind and gone to the country. Somewhere remote, where he could fly with his winged brothers. It would have a river though, definitely a large river where Fish eye could watch the Salmon jump upstream to the large lake he would've dug just for her. He would sit on a tree branch high above and watch her splash about in the cool water, her long turquoise hair shining in the sunset. Then later they would lie underneath the stars, sharing secrets and hesitant embraces. That would be his own beautiful dream, no Pegasus, no battles. If only…
"Hawk's eye-kun? Daijobu-Ka?"
The man opened his eyes to see an inquisitive pair of aquamarine eyes staring into his violet orbs. He blinked and leant back, the girl taking a seat next to him. So close…he could almost feel the warmth from her slight frame, making him want to gather her close. Fish eye frowned as he sat on his hands and turned away from her. He seemed so distant. Hesitantly, she reached over and touched his arm. He seemed to flinch at her touch, shying away from the fish.
"Talk to me." Fish eye's voice was cold, like icy water at the north pole. Hawk's eye glanced up to see the aquamarine eyes he adored filling with tears. Every instinct in his body called to hold her close, to shower her with kisses and declarations of love. His very soul screamed for the hawk to carry her away over the rooftops, to soar above the clouds and find his own beautiful dream with the one person he truly loved.
But fish cannot survive away from the water for very long, and the laws of the jungle cannot be broken even for love, so he remained prone, mute and deaf.
Fish eye waited. Hawk's eye waited. The silence stretched between them, like a hollow gulf that threatened to swallow them up whole. Hawk's eye stared down at the floor, begging Fish eye not to do this. Why did he have to have feelings for her? With a frustrated sigh Fish eye stalked off to practice her act, any concern she had for the Hawk disappearing. As she stood upon the ball and began to balance she watched the sad man gulp down saké like it was water. The half-light of the circus tent cast him in shadows, making his fluffy purple hair darken to a mauve hue.
He abruptly spun around on the stool and stared right at her. She gasped and nearly fell off the ball. Recovering quickly she spun around on the ball and put her back to him, biting her lip when she heard him sigh and leave. Tears fell unconsciously from her eyes as she carefully stored the memory of his beautiful glittering eyes away within her heart.
"Aishiteru, Hawk's eye." She whispered with only the empty tent her witness. "Maybe…one day…we can be reborn as humans…we can be together…one day…" Fish eye's voice broke as she fell to the floor and wept. Wept for the beautiful dream she had found but could never have.
Hawk's eye sat down upon the balconies edge. The sun had almost set yet it could not soothe his wounded heart.
"Pitiful little Fledgling," He thought to himself, "Do you long for your own death, longing for an Angel-fish like her? You are a Bird. In your life Bird's will have eaten many fish, perhaps even her family. She must hate you." Hawk's eye shook his head violently at the thought, even though it was true.
It never changed how he felt. When they would return to beast form he knew that he would still feel the same. He had never felt it before, but his heart knew love.
Sharp ears caught the rolling gait of the Tiger approaching, probably trying to find the source of the sad mood. He didn't react as Tiger's eye sat beside him, watching the sunset.
"We'll be beasts again, soon." Hawk's eye looked down at where Fish eye was swimming in her pool.
"Seems like there's no way to stay as human form." He replied. Tiger's eye followed the Hawk's gaze. His mouth twitched in a knowing smile, then sobered as the implications sunk in.
"I will never forget." Tiger's eye started, "I will never forget being in human form. Even if we are merely servants, to know you two has been the happiest time of my life. When we are beasts once more…I won't forget…"
The two men watched the stars twinkle into life, after a while being joined by fish eye. Dread of what tomorrow would bring gripped them all in it's iron grip, yet they held each other close and silently made their vow.
"I will never leave you two…" Tiger's eye thought sadly, fears of what he might do as a beast plaguing his mind.
"I will always protect you..." Hawk's eye glanced briefly at Fish eye before shying away. The girl looked back, her heart breaking anew.
"I will always love you…" She thought to herself, wiping away the stray tears she could not stop.
Tomorrow would be their last, but for the Amazon trio, tonight the Law of the jungle ceased to apply. They were merely three friends, bound together by their love.
It was enough.
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"You have failed me for the last time!" Zirconia screeched. The Amazon trio cowered at their masters power. Hawk's eye and Tiger's eye shielding Fish eye from the full blast of their master's fury.
"You will no longer be permitted to hold human form. Return to how I found you!" Zirconia raised the staff above his head and the three writhed in agony.
Hawk's eye held Fish eye close, feathers were sprouting from his arms and out of the corner of his eye he could see Tiger's eye crawling on all fours as his hands became paws. He heard a whimper and screamed as his beloved Fish eye gasped for breath, her lungs becoming gills.
"Hawk's…eye…" She whispered, a webbed hand reaching up to caress his feathery cheek. He mirrored the action, careful not to tear her delicate skin with his sharp talons. She cried silently, knowing that she would not survive.
"NO!" Hawk's eye yelled. But it only came out as a screech. He leant down and, with his last moment of humanity, gently kissed her. It was a kiss that tried so hard to show her how much she meant to him, a kiss that tried to keep them there for all eternity.
Fish eye sighed happily as they separated and gave him her love, soft now, and faint, like the waves from a fish's movement in the sea. Then she finished her transformation, a tiny gasping Angel-Fish being all that was left of Fish eye. A tiger staggered over and nudged the screeching Hawk, the two beasts sizing each other up before rubbing heads. They remembered.
Zirconia watched as the Hawk gently picked up the Angel Fish in his talons. With a flap of his great wings the bird propelled himself into the heavens, the tiger running along underneath the shadow of the Hawk. None looked back to their past, the time as Hawk's eye, Tiger's eye and Fish eye was now just a bittersweet memory.
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The mountain valley was perfect. Filled with lush trees and rolling plains it had a long winding river flowing through it to the freshwater lake. No humans had ever lived there, no crops could be grown so it was a haven for wildlife. And it was perfect for them.
A tiny splash was the only sound that could be heard in the lazy summers day. Flapping his wings the Hawk settled himself upon a low hanging branch as the Tiger lolloped into the clearing. It lapped at the water thirstily as the Hawk scanned the blue depths for any sign she was alive.
The Tiger leapt back, sopping whiskers dripping. Scanning the shallow waters the Hawk screeched in delight as the pinkish/blue colour of the Angel fish winked back at him. The Angel Fish poked her head up out of the water, deep black eyes fixed on the Hawk who silently acknowledged her affection and returned it tenfold.
For years after people would speak of a place where three animals who should have been deadly enemies stayed nearby each other. Of how the Hawk and the Angel fish never strayed too far from each others side. Of how the Tiger protected them all from any predators. Of how the trio had beaten the Law of the Jungle.
The Amazon trio never forgot their lives as humans. For a few brief months they lived, laughed, forged a friendship that lasted the years and most importantly, fell in love. At the moment they will remain in their valley, safe in the bonds of friendship and love forged between them. Yet one day they will die. When that happens, they will become what they always longed for.
As humans, they can have their own beautiful dreams, a chance to love and be loved.
For that is the law of love.