By very essance, his people were survivalists. Perfectionists in the field of living, and there could be no diviation if they wanted to survive. Birds were the oldest of the species, the most frail, at the biggest disadvantage from their lack of hands. They had to fight viciously for survival, it was ingrained into their blood.
His heart beat rapidly, and the thinnest of residual feathers on his chest ruffled in time. Any other Bird would have eaten the Hedgehog and run. That was their way. To take what they could, and work with it.
But he was an outcaste now, without a nest to return to. And even if he did, he would forever be an outsider.
The sun coloured Bird had no drive to survive.
Huddled with his legs folded up against his chest, the Bird fluffed out his wings and enclosed them on either side of his body. Enclosed in a body tent of feathers, his eyes slowly closed themselves. On the ground at his feet, the Hedgehog didn't move. Maybe it was dead. Maybe it was dying. The Bird really wasn't certain what to do about it.
The forest had grown silent hours before, the Striped Ones either lying low in wait to attack their run-away entertainment or having picked up and left. There were preditors out there- the Bird was quite certain. He could smell them, and feel them inching closer in the hollow bones of his wings. He'd die if he stayed here.
And he still wasn't flying away.
Shuffling awkwardly inside his wings, the Bird crab-walked on his claws closer to the Hedgehog's body. With a ginger tap, he prodded the unmoving shape's cheek. When there was no response, he couldn't berate himself for not being surprised. But something inside refused to let him leave the body alone.
Am I afraid to fight by myself? I could always just run. Am I afraid then...for him?
Moving clockwise in his shuffling steps, the Bird's footclaw made a ritualistic prod on the Hedgehog's exposed skin. Something in the forest crackled and slithered against the underside of leaves, and the Bird jumped to face its direction, feathers flat against his body. Blue eyes fixated intensely on the thing in the woods, the thick scaled claws moving cautiously towards the Hedgehog's body. Almost unconciously, the golden bird found himself standing on the back of the other creature, his claws closed in a solid avian vice grip around a set of larger spikes.
The thing in the forest rustled again, and the Bird lowered his head. Back arched and wings slowly spreading out to his sides, he hissed threateningly at the oncoming animal. Whatever it had been seemed intimidated by the display, the Bird could hear it begin to receed into the underbrush. He rattled the primary feathers aggressively and kept his head down in any case, cautious.
Clack! The Bird found himself thrown backwards off the Hedgehog's spikes, and without hands to regain his balance went rolling in the dust, wings bending and feathers snapping as he went.
The Hedgehog's spikes had all jolted upright, without any warning or indication to their hapless percher. At first, the brown armored plates quivered in the air, shaking and clattering against one another. Then, gradually, they began to receed until they lay flush, a harliquen pattern on the Hedgehog's back.
"Kindly gradual awakening," The Bird groaned to himself, struggling rightside up and ruffling out his feathers. The tips of some had snapped, and lay strewn in the path he was thrown like confetti. The Hedgehog...what had his name been? Zack, the Bird thought. The Hedgehog was making painful sounds too, and moving slightly. It reminded the Bird of worms when there had been too much rain, and they came up on the rocks for air and crawled around slow, blind and confused. Yes, that was exactly what the Hedgehog looked like.
Before Zack had a chance to pull himself up into a sitting position, the Bird's footclaws connected with his side and sent him rolling onto his back with a yelp of pain. The black rimming his vision had only begun to clear, and now was inching back as the Bird's face appeared before him. Framed in the black on a backdrop of the blonde hair, the blue eyes were fierce. Zack felt pressure on his chest as the light built creature moved to stand on him, wings folded back and glaring down.
"What did you think you were doing?" The Bird's voice snapped. Zack could see the feathers on his shoulderblades inching upwards in aggression. "You and your...Ground magic. Whatever it was! You idiot!"
Zack gritted his teeth and tasted dried blood on the back of his teeth, his stomach churning at the thought. His voice came out choked, pressured by the Bird pinning him down. "It wasn't my fault..."
"You overturned the cart. You had to get them angry!"
"They would kill us anyway-"
"Had to make them use that Stone thing, didn't you! You spiked moron, if you want to die, leave me out of it." The Bird bent at the hips, leaning in with a growl.
At the mention of the Terra-Stone, the Hedgehog's eyes blinked wide. "The materia- They were using materias, which was why it wouldn't hurt...me..." His voice trailed off in thought. It had hurt him. Quite a great deal. But it had let him live. It had let them all live, so near as he could see. The stones were never meant for aggression but it was as if this one had just simply refused to function. Backfired into the Hedgehog.
"You look plenty hurt to me," The bird sniffed at the Hedgehog's face, his sky eyes now close enough that if Zack had wanted to stare at the slivers of colour in the iris, he could. Close enough that if he wanted to kiss the Bird, he could.
The Hedgehog ignored logic.
Before the Bird could react and pull back, Zack's claws had him by the shoulders and had already pressed their lips together. The Bird tensed, his feathers ruffling between the Hedgehog's claws, but he did not run or pull away. A moment went by and the feathered one's muscles began to relax.
The Hedgehog took the lack of fight as an invitation. Very delicately, he moved his tongue between their lips and into the nameless Bird's mouth. The avian's pale cheeks flushed and his feathers stood on end again, but there were no clenched teeth barring the way. Again, another moment passed before the feathers relaxed against Zack's claws. Gingerly, nervously, the Bird's own tongue responded. A kitten kiss, a first time.
As much as he didn't want to stop, without really knowing why, the Hedgehog gently pushed the Bird back. Gold feathers ruffled up again as the two creatures broke the kiss, a sudden flush racing across the Bird's cheeks. Zack released his grip on the soft shoulders, fearing he was about to recieve another beating.
"What was that?! What did you do?" The Bird ruffled his feathers so high that he began to puff up, even in the areas where there was only residual down.
"It's called kissing."
"Who gave you permission to do that?! Not me!" Shaking now, the Bird sidestepped off the Hedgehog's chest and huddled down in the dirt nearby, eyes downcast but the blush on his cheeks glaring out against the pale skin.
Zack rolled to his side, ignoring the tearing pain it left in his body. Facing the Bird, he spoke quietly, kindly. "You need to come with me to the city of the Dragons. They need to know what's happened here."
"Why?"
"Because if we don't-"
The Bird's shaking shuddered to a halt as the eyes fixated on the Hedgehog again. "I meant why did you kiss me?"
"Because you're very beautiful."
The nameless avian's feathers began to lower themselves to normal consistancy, but the red tinting his cheeks only intensified. He remained huddled close to the ground as the Hedgehog painfully stood, wobbling and limping a step before gaining solid footing. A digging claw immediately went to the ground-dweller's sides, hugging them tight as pain danced between his eyes, but Zack said nothing. Silence dominated the forest clearing for a few moments longer before the Hedgehog pulled in some ragged breaths and cast another look towards the Bird. As before, it was of muted kindess.
"We need to go."