For a long time now, Simon Blackquill had been envious of his hawk, Taka. He watched the elegant bird, observing the street below them; its talons perched upon the apartment balcony. Taka wasn't here because Blackquill had commanded him to stay, but because he wanted to, and he could. Because Taka was a bird, he was free to choose who deserved his loyalty and friendship without penalty. What loyalty ever gave Blackquill was a 7-year death sentence in hell.

Blackquill took note of his new surroundings, a small apartment located not too far from the Wright Anything Agency. Aside from the table where he sat, there was a green sofa and several unpacked boxes, marked to be from somewhere in Europe. From the kitchen, the slams of cabinets and drawers echoed throughout the apartment.

"Give me a moment! I'll find something, I promise!" A woman's voice hurriedly called out from the kitchen.

After several moments, a warm, familiar face came trotting out with a tray of rice crackers and tea. A chipper smile was spread between her cheeks as she set the tray down in front of him. Blackquill peeked down to find a scattered bowl of rice crackers and a small, French teapot before him. The hot water in the teapot was barely stained by the tea leaves, a sign that his host had hastily prepared the concoction.

"This is just as unnecessary as all those objections you spit out in court, Cykes-dono." Blackquill remarked, looking up at his old friend. Athena was still wearing her canary yellow office suit, not even taking the time to change since coming home with him.

"Sorry if the rice crackers taste like crap. I um… took them from the office since they were about to go bad. "Athena let out a slight laugh, nervously stroking her burnt orange hair.

"Please don't prosecute her for food poisoning! They actually expired months ago!" A small, robotic voice chimed in from Athena's neck, adding to her chagrin.

"You mustn't be too generous to a fault Cykes-dono. You can barely afford groceries, yet you insist on kidnapping me from your office, with the goal to feed me." He let out a small grin, picking up a rice cracker for himself and daringly took a bite to appease his host. Much to his relief, the taste was much better than the questionable gruel that they offered him daily in prison. "Regardless Athena, all I really wanted to ask from you was counsel for Aura."

Athena sat down across from him and gave him a slight smile. "Well, of course I'll take her case, but this is the very least I could do for you, after… well everything you've done for me!" Her sharp blue eyes met with his, full of naïve sincerity. "But weren't you the prosecutor assigned to her case? That means we'll be…."

"You just wanted the rookie lawyer for your sis, so you get an easy trial!" The robotic voice interrupted a slightly disappointed look on Athena's face.

"I'll have you know, I don't underestimate your abilities as a lawyer. But just because she's my sister doesn't mean I'll be easy to forgive her for her sins." A smirk began to grow on Blackquill's lips.

Athena began to tap a finger on her chin, in thought. "Well, I suppose. But at the very least, what she did was for your sake. You wouldn't be here today if she didn't do what she did. After all, aren't you the only family she has left? Anyhow, what matters most is that you're free now!"

"Yes...I guess I'm free." Blackquill nodded in a silent agreement, but it was far from the truth. Though his name had just been cleared of any wrongdoing, the eyes of the public saw differently. The name "Simon Blackquill" would always be infamous.

A heartless manipulator. Cold-blooded. Murderer.

Especially in public, he felt the eyes of others tracing his every movement as if he was about to commit a murder. He did not need Athena's special abilities to feel their terror and anger toward him, nor did he warrant a further explanation as to why he was treated differently from others.

Blackquill watched his hostess tip a pour of tea into his cup as he reached for another cracker. "Hmph. Being free has its benefits, but I miss having to not worry about bills or even having to get dinner. Best of all, I even lived there for free. "

Athena poured herself a cup, before responding. "So, where will you end up staying once Aura's convicted? Didn't she also live at the Space Center?"

Blackquill looked down to the bottom of his teacup, to contemplate his answer. It was an issue that had troubled him for a while now. "Obviously I can't stay at the space center since I don't work there. Right now, the prosecutor's office is paying for a room at the Gatewater. I still have a day or two until I'll have to a find more permanent living situation. I've seen a few places, but..." He paused to reconsider his words. "...there were none I particularly liked."

But truth was, none of them had accepted his application, upon finding out that he had once been a convict.

"Really? That's a shame, not even a single place? Hmm…" Abruptly, Athena smacked her right fist into her left palm. "Well, why don't you just stay here with me, Simon! I really don't mind at all." She energetically offered, not an ounce of hesitation in her voice.

Simon's eyes flashed wide at the proposal; it was a lot to ask from her and perhaps too much. Definitely too much. "Cykes-Dono, didn't I just tell you to stop being overly generous? Besides, I can't ask that of you. Don't you need your own privacy?" He sighed, leaning his arm on his knee.

"Privacy? Ha! I really don't mind, just as long as I can help you out." Athena said through a cheeky grin. "There's only one bedroom, but I just got the couch! Doesn't it look cozy enough to sleep on?"

"Actually, she found the couch thrown out by the office and had Apollo bring it here. It might have belonged to this homeless guy down the street!" The robotic voice added, much to Athena's dismay.

"S-Shut up Widget! I got this couch fair and square! And I cleaned it pretty damn good!" Athena growled, arguing with the small robot.

Blackquill chuckled to himself, observing her. "Just as ever the idealistic princess. You haven't changed much since you were a kid. Don't you fret your pretty little yourself about my own matters. I have another appointment for a room in..,"

"But Simon, I'm serious about this." Athena interrupted. "Honestly, it wasn't much of an effort for me to find this apartment. I'm actually starting to think it's something else that's preventing you from getting an apartment and I'm sure it's not a no-hawk policy. It's what they think about you, isn't it? About your conviction."

Like a sharp blade, her words had actually struck the truth. He gazed at her ardent blue eyes, fearlessly staring back at him. He thought foolish of her, though she seemed to understand reality more than he did.

"Imagine what your neighbors would say when they find out ex-convict lives down the hall?" He muttered, a dark and trembling tone in his voice. "You'd lose this place in a heartbeat. It would kill me if my past were to come and haunt you like that."

"Then how about we just don't tell them about the past? All the paperwork is under my name, so they don't even have to bother looking at your records." Athena gave him an assuring smile. "Besides, shouldn't you be thinking about the present, instead of the past?" Her fingers moved up to his hair, curiously stroking it.

He let out a light laugh, allowing Athena play with his hair. "The tides of time certainly have passed through. Perhaps they've affected you the most. Out of all things to see outside of my cell, I didn't expect Cykes-sensei's princess to grow up as much as she did."

"Simon, I had to, so I could free from your cage." Athena said as her fingers followed the strands to his cheekbones, where dark shadows lay rest under his eyes. With her touch, she attempted to rub them away, to no avail. "But if anyone's really changed Simon, I think it's you. I don't think a therapy session could even begin to evaluate how much emotional damage you've sustained. It's physically taxing you as well, like you haven't slept well in years or had adequate nutrition."

"Silence." Blackquill growled, jerking to the side to get Athena's hand way from him. "I simply came to ask for defense counsel for Aura. I'm sure my appearance has nothing to do with that."

"Well Simon, to be truthful with you, this whole time you've been talking to me I couldn't stop hearing some sort despair you have in your heart. I'm thinking it's not just about Aura's trial or finding a place to live. Like you've been living with this despair for years, but it still hasn't gone away." Athena gave him a concerned look. "Simon...Do you actually feel free?"

At times, Athena's ability was not just a curse for herself, but for others as well. Blackquill knew this all too much. But at the same time, no one else really had come close in understanding out how he really felt, not even himself. She must have thought a lot about him, and the heavy damages of the past seven years.

He looked down at his wrists, his dark shadowed eyes focused on the marks that his shackles had left on them after 7 long years. "You know, I can actually still feel the shackles. They were so cold, so inhumane. They didn't just limit my movement but…everything. Even now, they still limit me, from doing the most simplest of things like finding a home or making new friends."

"Then I'll have to fix that, won't I Simon? After all, not even a samurai can fight if there are heavy chains bringing him down." Her soft hand curled itself around his. "At least, let me try to help you. It's what my mother would've wanted me to do and what I want to do now. Especially after everything you've done for me."

Blackquill sighed, his dark, deep eyes meeting hers at the middle. Athena was persistent, almost to a fault, but everything she did was for his benefit. At the very least, she would be more tolerable than others. "Fine, Cykes-dono. I'll stay here, but until I can find a more permanent place. I hate to burden you any further." He finally answered in defeat.

"Tres bien!" Athena beamed, as Widget flashed a green smile in unison. "Since it's obvious that Aura will be gone for a while, I want to show you that I'm here for you too. But let's hurry up and head down to the hardware store before they close." Athena said, as she got up from the coffee table and began stretching her legs.

"Hardware store? For what exactly?" Blackquill lifted a confused brow.

Athena eased her body and turned her head to the hawk on the balcony. The sun had finally begun to withdraw behind the bird, Taka's eyes shut for a quick nap. "Well if you're going to live here now, I'm sure Taka will be staying around too. He'll need a perch, won't he? We can make one tonight if we hurry!"

"B-but Cykes-dono, that's too much work. Can't we just go to a pet store?"

"Of course not! The one's at pet stores come with a cage, and of course we shouldn't cage up a hawk all day. It would depress him, you know?" Athena looked down toward Blackquill, giving him a big smile.

Blackquill stood up and returned her smile, though his eyes fixated on her instead of Taka. His breath remained steady, cautious to say a word. Somehow in Athena's company, the dark troubles that plagued him for 7 years had just disappeared as if a bright, yellow sun had chased it away for a moment. Perhaps it was the start of something new.

"Thank you, Athena." He whispered, placing a small kiss onto her cheek.