The storm had knocked down several tree limbs inside of his enclosure and Gilbert was spending the morning clearing them from his yard. His keepers didn't seem to mind who accomplished it so long as it was done which had led to his agreement with them: if the space looked orderly, no one would attempt to enter. As such, the shifter's yard would often be one of the best kept.

With the sun rising steadily, the wet earth was beginning to dry though it would still give way when stepped on. Gilbert watched his footing as he carried another branch towards his gate and the small pile he had formed. This morning he was only going through the motions of setting his enclosure right, his mind occupied on something, or shall we say someone, else.

With the exception of Francis, Gilbert had not known any harpies before Birdie. He knew of several shifters who were close with harpies, but they never compared notes. Only stories when they had met up to spend time together. The times when they sat around with a beer or two, venting about various things he did not always recall afterwards. Those times he didn't worry about the races he was never in contact with.

Gilbert's sensitive hearing caught a small chirp that brought him out of his musings. Birdie was the threshold of their shared room, blinking and wincing from the sun he hadn't seen in days. "Guten Morgen." Gilbert offered a half wave as he called to the harpy. "Just me out here. Picking things up."

Birdie glanced around, as though still unsure, before stepping outside. He stopped a few strides away and sunk the talons of his feet into the mud and wiggling them around a little. The blonde smiled softly at the feeling, and Gilbert smiled while he finished clearing away the debris.

"Hola! ¿Como te llamas?"

Birdie froze, eyes wide in fear as they looked towards the cheerful minotaur. Antonio waved from his side of the fence and Gilbert glanced between the two.

"It's alright. Birdie, this is Antonio. He lives next door. Won't remember anything you tell him tomorrow." Gilbert turned back to the minotaur. "Toni, this is Birdie." Introductions complete, he collapsed on the grass next to the fence.

"Gilbert, why are you so cruel to me?" Antonio smiled pleasantly. "It's nice to meet you. I hope you are enjoying your time here!"

Gilbert snorted though Antonio didn't catch it. "Would you like to come join us, Birdie? You can just sit wherever."

Birdie thought it over, eventually coming to the decision that it would be alright and chose a place on the other side of Gilbert still a fair distance away from the shifter. He watched Antonio warily, hoping that this wasn't one of the harpy-eating creatures he could eventually be fed to.

"The fence is electrified; he won't be coming through it after you." Birdie met Gilbert's gaze and turned back to the minotaur who nodded to confirm.

"Si, and it was needed when this guy first arrived." Birdie tilted his head looking between the two, silently asking what they meant.

"I was a little out of control when I first arrived…"

"A little? Amigo, me and Francis were placing bets on how long it would take before you died from the amount of volts you took." Antonio's green eyes sparkled. "I had one week."

"Dare I ask how long Francis said I'd last?"

"I believe he gave you three days."

"Three?"

Antonio laughed. "Si, but I believed in you amigo. I knew you would last longer."

"By only a few days." Gilbert looked at Birdie incredulously. "Do you see what I put up with?" Birdie nodded sympathetically, a small smile brightening his features. The shifter collapsed backwards on the grass, watching the sky. "Those were different times."

"I find I like the calm. It was hard to do anything then with the amount of noise you made."

"I was trying all options to escape." Gilbert rolled to look at the harpy, his face serious. "All of this fencing has a current running through it strong enough to make your hair stand up straight and make you twitch for a few hours. The only place it doesn't is that door over there." Gilbert pointed towards the gate. "That door, however, has enough locks and layers of steel to it to that it won't move. If you somehow managed to find a way up the fence there is razor wire at the top. They make it look nice so you really don't notice it's there. And lastly, you could try digging underneath the fence, but the fence runs deep and the humans here get unhappy if you start digging up their yard." Gilbert looked away, though it didn't little to hide the bitterness he felt. "And that it is how a human keeps someone as awesome as me in this place."

Birdie studied the shifter, and then his eyes roamed the expanse of fencing, the heavy door. His eyes moved up to the uncovered sky beyond the reach of the golden harpy and he sighed quietly.

"They don't mind the harpies flying from place to place. They know they won't leave. You will be able to fly out of this pen without any problems." Birdie studied Gilbert, finding that he meant those words and took comfort that the shifter did have his well-being in mind.

"You should come visit me! I always love visits. And Francis is the only one who ever does."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Yes, Toni. Birdie's first stop when he is finally able to fly again will be to your yard to spend time with you."

"You really mean that?"

Luckily, Antonio was spared the reply with the arrival of their morning meal. Gilbert waved farewell to the minotaur and headed towards the gate to collect the food. Behind him, he could hear the rustle of feathers signaling Birdie's movement that trailed behind him as he walked across his yard. The keeper was already at the gate when duo arrived. Gilbert approached the gate while Birdie hung back, nervous.

The keeper stared at the harpy while he handed Gilbert the plate. "He's still here? And doesn't look like how he did when he arrived?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. What was with everyone today? "Yes, where else was he going to go?"

"Well…" The keeper looked away, slightly embarrassed. "They figured you would eat him."

Birdie shifted uncomfortably, throwing glances back towards the relative safety of the room and hoping that was enough of a hint for Gilbert. The shifter sighed as he stepped away from the gate. "Feathers don't digest well. Besides, it's nice to have someone around."

"Uh… Right…" The keeper replied, watching as Gilbert led the harpy back across the space. He would have stayed longer, had he not been interrupted by Antonio calling him, asking for his own meal. "I'm coming Toni!" The keeper shouted to the minotaur, taking one last look at the retreating figures in the pen he stood beside, he left them to finish his morning rounds.

When Gilbert stepped inside he placed Birdie's plate down on the bed where he usually put it and moved away to get to the table, leaving enough space for Birdie to shuffle around the shifter and get to the bed to claim his meal. Once finished, Gilbert studied the harpy carefully. "Are you planning on spending the day outside?" Birdie seemed to think this over until the shifter added, "The days after it rains tend to have the most visitors." The harpy shook his head, the blonde hair whipping back and forth. Gilbert nodded in understanding. "Sure thing, Birdie. Leave the entertaining to the awesome me!"

"Ah! I am late!" Francis swooped down on the pair resting quietly by the fence.

"No hurry, Francis. We're not going anywhere." Gilbert yawned, looking at the harpy that joined them. "What happened to you?"

Francis glared angrily at his torn clothing and the scratch on his belly. "I paid a visit to my old friend."

"Gott, Francis. The two of you fought again?"

"It cannot be helped." Francis gingerly sat on the grass next to Gilbert. "That brownie has some serious abandonment issues. He's still sore that his family left him behind for America."

"I do not like that brownie…" Two sets of eyes looked at their friend through the fence. Antonio's normally cheerful grin was replaced by a grim frown and his usually bright green eyes had a darker hue to them.

Francis and Gilbert shared a look. "Toni~" Francis cooed at the other. "We are old friends, and arrived at this zoo around the same time. I couldn't just stop spending time with him, non?"

"Besides," Gilbert continued, "Francis spends more time with you because he likes you better." Francis gave Gilbert a questioning look.

"Oh, okay!" Antonio brightened, all remnants of the darker aura fading quickly. Gilbert and Francis sat back feeling relieved. "Francis, what is the gossip today?"

Francis smiled. "There is quite the mess going on over by kashchey. It would seem that the two in the neighboring enclosure want to be moved."

"Don't we all wish we could move farther away from him?" Gilbert said, eyeing the bronze harpy.

Francis shook his head. "Non. Although the berehynia wants to move away, the rusalka wants in with him."

There was silence from the two as they attempted to understand. "She wants to live in the same pen as him?" Antonio asked.

"Oui."

"She has met him before, right?" Gilbert asked. Francis nodded and Gilbert shuddered slightly at the thought.

"Apparently she believes that he is her lover." Francis added. This earned him several moments of stunned silence.

"¡No jodes!"

"What he said!"

Francis chuckled, amused that he had delivered this tidbit of information. Gilbert was the first to emerge from the shock to ask "What does he think of this?"

"No one knows." Francis hummed. "He's apparently locked himself inside his room and has yet to reappear and of course no one wants to go in and check on him."

Gilbert shook his head and Antonio seemed to be filing this information away in his head for later use. "Oh, Francis!" The harpy looked to the minotaur. "Gilbert's friend was here earlier."

"Oh?" Francis looked to Gilbert. "The petite harpie d'or showed himself?"

"Si. He seemed cute." Antonio's tail flicked while he thought. "What did you call him Gilbert?"

Gilbert's crimson gaze glanced at Francis. "Birdie."

Francis sniffed, clearly not amused at the nickname. "Francis, you should have been here to meet him. I think you would have liked him."

"Of course, mon ami. He is like me, non? I would approve of him."

"And, how awesome it is to spend time with the two of you I think I'm going to go eat my dinner now." Gilbert stood and held a hand in farewell to his friends. "Tschüs."

Francis hummed. "Au revoir. Enjoy your date."

Gilbert flinched and turned back to the bronze harpy. "It's not a date." He growled.

"All the same." Francis beat his wings a few times to send him over the fence to join Antonio. Once safely out of reach, he winked at Gilbert, laughing. The albino frowned at his friend and stalked away.

Birdie was sitting comfortably on the edge of the bed, his own meal in hand, when Gilbert entered. The shifter looked over the calm harpy, studied the way his blonde hair framed his face and the light violet eyes that shone, how the gold feathers merged with his hair, complimenting the color. He wondered how they felt, if they were soft like how Francis's were.

Wait, what was he thinking? Gilbert stared at the plate in front of him, willing the thoughts to go away. He was a shifter and this harpy was only a temporary guest. Attractive as he may be, it would not work. At least he was something good to look at, Gilbert allowed his eyes to sneak a look at the harpy, though they found that they harpy was watching him. Refocusing back on his food, Gilbert shoveled what was left into his mouth and stretched.

"Well, Birdie. I think it's about time to turn in. What do you think?" Gilbert stood and headed towards the door. "Since it's not raining, I'll just go back outside I think…"

A small chirp stopped him, and he looked over his shoulder at the harpy that shook his head and looked away. Gilbert thought for a moment, translating what the motion could mean and tentatively asked "Or, I could sleep in here…?"

Birdie nodded, motioning with his eyes to the place where Gilbert had spent the night previously. Gilbert understood and curled up in the same spot, resting his head on his paws and uttering a low bark of 'good night' which Birdie returned with a nod.

Francis's Creature Explanation:

Brownies: Household creatures that usually help out with chores and things. Generally go unseen by the family they live with, and tend to get very attached to them (usually moving with the family when they move). However, something must have happened between this one and his family to make him this irritable. I went back and forth as to whether or not this would fit him. I don't know if I'm still entirely convinced or not.

Berehynias and Rusalkas: Both are Slavic and relatively similar. They are often feminine spirit/mermaid/demon things that live along riverbanks. There is, however, one major difference between them. Berehynias are the kinder version, more likely to do good and have become the symbol of Ukraine. Rusalkas are the evil ones, as they prowl around looking for unmarried men to lure to their deaths. Poor Kashchey…

Kashchey: I mentioned him in the first chapter but just a reminder, he's also Slavic, and is immortal because he stores his soul inside a pin inside an egg, hare, duck, and chest.

"¡No jodes!": something one says when told something shocking. Thanks to Kiri-Kay for helping me out with that one! :)

Petite harpie d'or: Little Gold Harpy. But my French is terrible so if this wrong don't say this to anyone. Actually, if this is right you probably don't want to say it to anyone anyways.