Part II
November
Two large dogs trudged through the freshly fallen snow to a narrow alleyway. They've making their home in a few large boxes for the winter. Not exactly ideal but at least it keeps the snow off for the most part.
The Black Labrador glared at his other companion. The Great Pyrenees was the reason they didn't find anything to eat today. Not only did he scare away the prey but he also got them shooed off by the humans too. At least, the large white dog had the decency to look guilty.
"Hey, Berwald," started the Pyrenees hesitantly. "You're not angry at me, are ya?"
Berwald gave the other another glare, which actually didn't look too different from his normal look.
"I'm guessing that's a 'yes'?"
"What do ya think, Mathias?" Berwald scoffed.
"Look, brother, I'm sorry, but I honestly didn't know that that human would throw the pan at you!" Mathias tried in his defense.
Berwald winced when he remembered the slight pain on his shoulder, and said, "We're not brothers."
"So? We're as good as any brothers out there, maybe even more so!"
"Why's that?"
"Because we stick together buddy! Through thick and thin, brothers for life!" Mathias announced happily coming up to Berwald and pawing at the younger's side.
"Stop that," Berwald chastised. "Doesn't matter, we're still not brothers, and especially after… that."
"What?"
"That. Whatever you just said 'bout 'through thick and thin'… it was weird. Don't say it again."
"Meh, you're just a party pooper. I thought it was totally cool!"
"And that's the problem," Berwald muttered rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I'm going to go get us some food, since we don't have any."
"Really? You thought of a place? Where are we going?" asked Mathias bounding around, kicking snow up everywhere.
"Yes, but you're not coming." Mathias stopped and looked at Berwald
"What! Why not!"
"You're too fluffy, you'd slow us down," Berwald said as he ran out of the alley leaving no room for argument.
"I'm not fluffy, I wouldn't slow us down," Mathias muttered as he flopped down in his box with a huff.
~.~.~.~.~
Berwald walked around the streets looking for a trash can or dumpster he hadn't tried yet. He hadn't found anything and it was beginning to get dark. As he looked around and took in the buildings and smells he realized that he rarely came to these parts of the city. He could smell the fish now from a river nearby.
He looked around some more, trying to find something that looked simple to open, when he heard a squeak. Except, it didn't sound like it came from a rodent, but rather a cat.
Berwald backtracked a bit and tried to find the source. He doesn't eat cats but maybe it can tell him where he can find some food around here.
He found a small cat trying to get out of a snow drift. He neared it just as it popped out of the snow.
"What are ya doin'?" Berwald asked watching it struggle. The white cat with large brown spots looked up at Berwald and gasped. "It's alright, I'm not goin' ta hurt ya," he quickly added on just in case.
"Oh, okei," the cat said with a nervous chuckle. "I've never really seen a dog before, especially one as big as you- Not that you're fat or anything! You're just tall? Anyway, I'm trying to teach myself to fly."
The cat said it so seriously that Berwald couldn't tell if it was a joke or not. He picked the safest route in thinking that the cat was probably telling the truth. Better safe than sorry, right?
"Fly?" Berwald repeated dumbly.
"Yep! My brothers didn't teach me when they were here so I'm going to teach myself!" The cat picked himself off of the ground and started jumping back up to a ledge that was twice as tall as Berwald.
"Ya know ya don't have wings right?"
"Yep!" came the reply. "But that's alright because I have paws! I think if I flap them hard enough I can probably fly like my brothers too!"
Where did this guy get these ideas from? Wait… brothers?
"Ya have brothers who can fly?"
"Yep! Two!" Since when could cats fly?
"Cats… can fly…?" Berwald asked unsurely. The world was starting to not make sense anymore. Maybe it's just been a really long time since Berwald's seen another cat?
"No silly! Not now! I'll be the first cat who can do it! My brothers are actually hawks." Berwald sighed in relief. At least that made sense.
"Now watch!" the cat said from the ledge. "Better remember the name Tino, mister, because I'll be famous! I'll be flying in no time!" Then said cat suddenly took a giant leap off, nearly giving a Berwald a heart attack. He wildly swung his front paws up and down but it had no effect on his fall into the snow drift. Berwald bounded forward to make sure the silly cat was alright.
Tino's butt was the only thing sticking out of the snow. He tried to scramble out but he was stuck. It was cute. Berwald lightly grabbed the cat within his jaws and gently tugged him out. Tino straightened his fur and looked at him with large purple eyes. Strange for a cat but it suited him.
"Thanks!" Tino looked forlornly at the ledge. "I guess I won't be able to learn to fly huh?"
Berwald shook his head and Tino turned back to face him.
"I like you! You're nice!" Berwald blushed at the compliments. He was usually considered a bit scary since he was slightly bigger than most dogs his breed and tended to glare. He just had trouble seeing is all! Tino smiled at him.
"You don't talk much do you?" he asked.
"Not really," Berwald mumbled.
"Well that's okei! My brothers tell me that I talk too much! What's your name anyway?"
"Berwald."
"Nice to meet you Berwald!" Tino looked around and continued, "Well, it's getting dark. I better get back home!"
Tino started to bound away when Berwald realized he still never asked about the food.
"Wait!" the Lab called. Tino stopped and turned around. "Do ya know any good places ta find food aroun' here?"
"You're looking for food?" Tino asked with a head-tilt and Berwald nodded. "Well, there's a warehouse nearby with some mice I go to a lot…"
"Can't hunt mice, and they wouldn't fill me up," Berwald said.
"Oh that's true," Tino replied and then hummed in thought.
"Well, there's always the river… but maybe that's frozen right now? Of course, you can break the ice!"
"I can't fish…"
"Oh, really? Well, maybe I can teach you like my brothers taught me!" Berwald just shrugged in response, and Tino bounded up to him.
"I'm not a cat… I don't think it will work," Berwald said.
"I don't know about that. You look like you're a pretty good swimmer!" chuckled Tino while studying the large dog. Berwald blushed a bit under Tino's bright gaze. "So what do ya say, Berwald? You can stay with me next to the river! Unless you have a home to go to?"
Berwald thought of the boxes in the alleyway and quietly replied, "No home."
"Then you definitely have to come with me! You won't survive on your own!" Tino gasped. Berwald chuckled lightly. Obviously he'd survived this long, he can do it again. Of course, he also had… aw shit.
"There's another thing…" Berwald started. "It's not just me."
"What?"
"Mathias."
"What's that?"
"My broth- friend." Damn it, Mathias was starting to rub off on him.
"Oh, well he can come to!" Tino said. "There's plenty of room where I live! Especially since Lukas and Emil aren't there right now."
"Are ya sure? Mathias can be… annoyin'."
Tino chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be fine!"
~.~.~.~.~
Tino followed Berwald all the way back to the alleyway. When they entered in, a large, fluffy white dog appeared out of the snow and started bounding towards them at full speed. Tino shrieked and jumped onto Berwald's back, claws digging in. Berwald groaned but didn't throw the cat off. He would scream too if he had to meet Mathias for a first time again after all. He understood the pain.
"Berwald! You're back did ya bring food? What's that? Is it edible?" Mathias asked excitedly peering at the trembling cat on Berwald's back.
"No," Berwald said sternly rolling his eyes. "Tino's not food. He's letting us stay with him and teaching us to fish. Tino, this is Mathias. Sorry 'bout him."
"Oh, it's fine!" Tino said retracting his claws from Berwald's back embarrassed.
"Yeah, there's no need ta apologize Waldo!" Mathias said. "And teaching us to fish? That sounds like a lot of work."
"You'll ge' food."
"True that. So, where are we goin' then?" Mathias looked at Berwald who looked down at the small cat.
"Oh! Right! Follow me back to the river! The nest is nearby!" Tino said excitedly as he bounded out of the alley. The dogs looked at each other.
"Nest?" Mathias repeated.
"Apparently, he was raised with hawks," Berwald said with a shrug and hurried out after him.
"Oh cool." And Mathias started after them but turned back around when he got to the turn. "Goodbye, box."
~.~.~.~.~
Two large dogs following a small cat was an interesting sight to see, but they didn't care. Tino and Mathias made an interesting conversation about anything and everything as Berwald studied the cat.
He was interesting and cute. He was so tiny that Berwald immediately felt the need to protect him. Berwald never felt that way for Mathias; of course that guy was just annoying. Tino was different. He was special.
Tino led them to some sort of abandoned building and up to the second floor where a pile of blankets were place on the middle of the floor like a bed.
"Well, this is it," Tino said looking proud.
"It's so cool! And warm!" Mathias said shaking the snow off his fur and pissing off Berwald, who was beside him, in the process.
"Don't do tha'! Ya ge' it everywhere!"
"What?"
"It's fine Berwald!" Tino chuckled. "Well, you two can make yourselves at home. Like I said, it's only me here!" Tino got into the middle of the blankets. He looked around at the nest and then back at the dogs. "Um… there's not much room, but maybe if we squeeze…?"
Mathias and Berwald looked down at the nest of blankets that could maybe barely hold Berwald by himself.
Mathias chuckled, "I don't think even that could work Tino."
"It's fine," Berwald continued. "We can jus' sleep next ta the, uh, nest."
"Oh, well, if you're sure…" Tino said, looking slightly disappointed.
"Yep!"
"It's fer th' best."
"Alright, then," Tino said. "We'll begin lessons tomorrow! For now, I say we sleep." He finished with a yawn that made the others yawn too.
"Sounds good to me," Mathias said flopping over on to his side and falling asleep.
Berwald curled up next to the nest, watching and guarding it for a while, before deeming it safe to doze off as well.
January
Mathias and Berwald have been living with Tino for almost two months now. Tino taught them to fish to the best of his ability (What actually ended up happening though was two large dogs paddling in the water, playing and splashing each other and not paying any attention to Tino. Eventually Tino just gave up too.), and the dogs taught him to use his nose. Up until then, Tino's been mainly using his eyes and ears as tools for finding food, but now he's learned that his nose can be just as good! Sure, Mathias and Berwald were still much better than him but he was confident that he will be just as great, maybe even better one day!
The two dogs have practically deemed the nest "home" now. Berwald couldn't think of a time when he was happier than now with his "sort-of brother" and that absolutely adorable cat.
Berwald watched Tino jump around and play in the snow from the doorway of the building. Mathias left earlier in search of food from the "fancy part" of the city (the Northside). He was beginning to get sick of fish and he'd be probably gone for almost the entire day.
Tino bounced from one drift of snow to another, laughing when he plopped into a particularly large pile. He looked over at Berwald who was lying down and watching him with a small smile.
"Hei Berwald!" Tino yelled. "Come and join me!"
"No thanks," Berwald chuckled.
"Aw, why not!?"
"Hm, because it's cold and I don't wanna ge' wet."
"But that's no fun! C'mon Ber! Play!" Tino said jumping into another pile. Unfortunately, it was bigger than he expected and he completely fell in with a squeak. Berwald quickly stood up in concern.
"Tino?" he called, but when he heard no response he quickly went over to the large drift.
"Tino? Are ya-" A yell cut him off as Tino burst out of the snow drift and jumped headfirst at his side. The cat fell back on his butt with an "oomph" and Berwald stared down at the cat bewildered. Tino looked up at him and pouted.
"You were supposed to fall over," Tino said in explanation. Apparently, a 70-some pound dog doesn't topple over very easily. Berwald raised an eyebrow at Tino's explanation then fell over on to his side causing snow to fly up into the air. Tino laughed and pounced on Berwald.
"Got ya! I, Tino the Fabulous, have toppled over this beast!" Tino stated proudly while standing on Berwald's side looking out over the snow, until his perch started to vibrate.
"Berwald?" he asked walking up the moving body to the shoulders and then to the head. "What's wrong?" Tino watched Berwald shake and realized he was actually laughing! The usually stoic canine was laughing! It was actually kind of cute and Tino started to laugh too. He couldn't help it.
Berwald eventually regained control of himself and noticed Tino still on his side.
"What are ya doin'?" he asked with a small grin.
Tino stood up and smirked down at the dog underneath him. "I am showing you who's the top-dog around here!"
"Are ya now? Ya think yer Alpha?"
"Yeah! I'm the Alpha!" Tino said proudly puffing out his chest. Berwald let out a small laugh.
"Oh really?" he asked mischievously. "Well, then. Let's see about tha'." He suddenly got up causing Tino to fall over and the cat quickly took off running.
"You have to catch me first!" he yelled back to Berwald. Berwald ran after him but with the snow flying into the air and Tino's white fur, he quickly lost sight of him. Plus, it didn't help that Berwald didn't have the best vision either.
Finally, he saw some sort of brown-gray spot in the snow that looked like the spot on Tino's back. Berwald made quietly made his way over but his shadow gave away his position. Tino shrieked and began to run away again.
Tino and Berwald played like this for a long while until Berwald finally had to stop. The cat had a lot more energy than he did, and, even though it was cold out, he was starting to get hot from all that running around. The black lab flopped over onto his back and began rolling around in the cool snow.
Tino came over to Berwald and tilted his head as he watched his friend.
"What are you doing?" he laughed as Berwald kept doing… whatever he was doing.
"Rollin'," he panted. "Feels goo'."
"Really?"
"Try it." So, Tino rolled onto his back too and started copying Berwald.
"You're right! This is fun!" Tino said while laughing.
"I'm always righ'."
Tino snorted. "You wish."
~.~.~.~.~
When it finally started to get dark, the two made their way back home. They were covered in head to paw with snow, but they didn't mind. They were tired but happy with just each other's presence.
When they stepped into the building where the nest was, they found Mathias sitting at the door waiting with an upset expression on his face.
"What took you guys so long?" he demanded.
Berwald and Tino looked at each other and chuckled.
"Sorry Mathias," Tino said. He actually did look apologetic unlike Berwald who didn't really care that Mathias was jealous.
Berwald just came in and shook the snow off of himself, getting the area around him wet, including Mathias and Tino (who was already wet so it didn't matter). Mathias made a noise of protest while Tino just laughed and copied Berwald too. Though, it didn't work out quite as well and instead he ended up with fur sticking out and still had snow on him.
Berwald just laughed at Tino's pout. He tried to get some of the snow off of him but his paw was too large and he ended up packing the snow more deeply into Tino's fur. The cat laughed at Berwald's clumsy attempt and looked at the snow now clumped to his coat.
"Whatever," Mathias said with an eye roll. "You guys can flirt down here all you want. I'm going back up to the nest. Oh, and you're all not allowed up until you're dry!" And with that, he took off towards the upper level. Meanwhile, Tino and Berwald were blushing hard due to Mathias's comment and they quickly looked away from each other.
"We're not-! Er…" Berwald tried to protest, but Mathias was long gone, and the only listener left was Tino. He gave a sideways glance at the cat before looking away again and continuing. "That is… if you want… m-maybe? I don't know… y-you're probably… uh…" Berwald was rambling and stuttering and making an absolute fool out of himself and he knew it.
Finally, Tino silenced him by jumping up and giving him a quick lick on the side of his snout.
"Does that help?" Tino asked bashfully, and Berwald could only nod. He felt like his heart was going to burst and his face was going to catch on fire.
"O-okei!" Tino giggled before running off.
Sometime between November and February
Xiao looked up forlornly at the sky.
"My sexy, beautiful darling… where are you…?"
"Aiyah! Xiao! Get back down here! You'll freeze to death up there!"
Late February
Lukas and Emil ended up coming back a few months earlier for Tino. Argued-out and irritated from the long journey they finally reached their nest… their home… only to find Tino curled up between two strange, gigantic dogs.
They sat at the window for a moment, staring at the beasts surrounding their precious brother.
"What the fuck!?" Emil managed to squeak out. He looked over at Lukas who had a murderous aura around him.
"My… precious… brother," he growled. His talons dug into the wood underneath him.
"Now, Lukas, I say we should get an explanation first, yeah?" Emil said trying to calm down his older brother. It wasn't working.
"My precious brother!"
Suddenly, one of the beasts, the white one, woke up from Lukas's screeching. He yawned and sleepily blinked his eyes open. Lukas seethed and readied his wings for an attack while Emil froze. After all, his last encounter with a dog didn't go over very well, and this one was bigger.
"You!" Lukas yelled. "How dare you!?" The dog looked up curiously at the two hawks.
"What do ya mean? Who are you?" he asked with a smile and a wag of his tail. "I'm Mathias, nice to meet ya!"
"I didn't ask for a name! Get out!"
"Lukas-" Emil tried but was cut off again.
"Lukas? That's yer name?" the white dog asked.
"Shut up!" Then with a war cry, Lukas took off and tried to claw out the dog's eyes.
"Holy shit!" Mathias yelled before running away only to be chased by Lukas who was angrily yelling profanities and trying to get a hold of him. He was only grabbing fur right now, good thing the dog had lots of it Emil guessed.
The commotion caused Berwald and Tino to wake up too. Berwald, sensing an intruder, immediately stood over Tino in a protective stance and growled. Tino literally shook from the force of it and had never seen Berwald, who was usually so kind and sweet, that angry before. Tino looked around trying to figure out what was happening before he spotted Mathias being attacked by…
"Lukas?" he asked with a slight head tilt. After hearing the excessive profanities Tino realized it was indeed his older brother. "Wait, Lukas! Stop!" Tino said bounding forward out of Berwald's protective stance.
"Tino!" Berwald said and tried to go back to covering him, but Tino just smiled back and said, "It's okei Berwald! I know him! He's my brother!"
Suddenly, Lukas and Mathias stopped their yelling and running, and looked over at Tino wide-eyed.
"Brother!?" Mathias cried. "Him?! How!?"
Lukas flew over to Tino and landed in front of him. The cat was almost as tall as he was now.
"Tino," Lukas said with a small smile. "My brother. You've grown."
Tino beamed at him and nudged his older brother with his head purring. "Lukas! I missed you! It's been so long! Is Emil here too?"
Lukas nodded and looked up at the hole where Emil was perched. The younger bird rolled his eyes but flew down anyway to land near the other two.
"Hey, little bro," Emil said with a slight smirk.
"Emil!" Tino said as he pounced on the other who fell over with a squawk.
"Why me?!" cried Emil as he tried to escape Tino by flapping his wings.
"Alright, alright," Lukas finally said calming his brothers down. "Now Tino, why the hell are these two beasts here?" he growled, the room suddenly dropping a few degrees.
Mathias gulped and started slowly backing away. Berwald just glared at the older hawk. He wasn't about to let his new home be invaded by these puny birds – brothers or not.
"Oh Lukas! These are my friends! Berwald and Mathias!"
"New friends… that live here?" Emil asked looking at the dogs.
"And were sleeping with you?" Lukas growled.
"Oh Lukas. They weren't sleeping with me. Only Berwald. Mathias usually sleeps a little bit away since Ber's a little possessive," Tino explained thinking it would clear up the situation. Obviously not. Lukas immediately bristled and Emil looked shocked.
"Uh Tino… I don't think that's a goo' idea…" Berwald said now taking steps back. Mathias followed suit.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Tino asked with a head tilt.
"Are you Berwald?" Lukas asked lowly to the black lab.
"Yes he is!" said Mathias happily. "Have fun! I'll, uh, be right back… later!" The Great Pyrenees ran out of the room leaving Berwald glaring after him as he was left by himself. Tino watched after Mathias confused. He glanced at Berwald then to his brothers, and it dawned on him.
"Hei Berwald?" Tino started. "Mind giving us some time alone?"
The large dog nodded and eagerly left the room, probably going to go kill his brother.
Tino turned to a fuming Lukas and an indifferent Emil.
"So… how have you guys been?" the cat asked with a smile.
"Y'know, same old, same old. You've gotten big," Emil commented.
"Have I?" Tino looked down at himself worriedly.
"Stop changing the topic," Lukas cut in. "Tino, what is going on?"
"Nothing Lukas! Honest! They're my friends!"
"But this was our home," Lukas said slightly dejectedly. He glanced at Emil who just shrugged.
"It still is!" Tino said. "But we have plenty of room. Why not let some of my new friends live here too? Besides, I was all by myself! It's dark and lonely in here. They're nice guys. Just give them a chance. Please, Lukas? Emil?"
Lukas looked indecisive but then after a while he sighed. "Very well. I'll give them a chance. Only because I trust you, Tino."
"Thank you!" he said running over to Lukas nudging and purring. Then he looked over at Emil expectantly.
Emil shrugged and said, "I don't care either way."
"Yay!" was the only warning Emil got before he was pounced on again.
"Would you stop that!?"
March
Emil left the building early in the morning before his brothers/friends/roommates woke up. Since he and Lukas have come home, he has had no time to himself. Either Tino's trying to constantly be with them to make up for lost time which causes Berwald to follow as well as Mathias, or Lukas bothers Emil who's trying to be by himself.
The smaller hawk flew over the city, enjoying the fresh air and, most importantly, the silence. He must have flown for what seemed like hours before finally stopping by the lake. He landed on a branch hanging low over the water, just watching the sun shimmer off of the lake and the humans emerge from their houses.
"And my hero has returned! How's it going sexy~?" said the most annoying, narcissistic, smug voice Emil's ever heard. He had completely forgotten this thing existed during his time away. Now, suddenly, he remembered why he was so anxious to leave. Briefly, he wondered how long Emil would have to ignore him before Xiao got bored.
"Is your daddy an owl, cause man you're a hoot!"
Emil glared at the fish staring at him from the water below. "Does it look like my father was an owl? Maybe you need to get your species checked because you're dumber than a rock!"
"Ouch. That hurt," Xiao said.
"Y'know, I thought fish weren't supposed to live that long? How the hell are you still alive?"
"The power of love, baby~" and Emil rolled his eyes. "So, will I, like, ever get that name?"
"Nope."
"There you are," said a voice (Lukas) from next to the hawk causing him to nearly fall off the branch in shock. "I've been looking for you."
"Lukas," Emil muttered in disdain. How the hell did he find him?
"Who's that?" asked the annoying fish. Was he jealous? Emil almost smirked.
"None of your business."
"It's always my business."
"Since when?"
"Since, like, forever."
"What kind of an answer is that!?"
"Emil, stop playing with your food," said Lukas with a slight smirk.
"But- he's the one- I'm not- ugh!"
"Emil? Is that, like, your name?" Xiao asked.
"No!" Emil shot at him at the same time Lukas said, "Yes."
"Cool," Xiao said. "What's it mean?"
"The fuck if I know!"
"Rival," Lukas answered for him.
Xiao nodded. "It sounds foreign ("Oh, and 'Xiao' isn't?"), is it penguin?"
"What the fuck?" Emil cried. "Where'd you get that from?"
"Puffin, actually," Lukas replied.
"Nice."
"I give up," the smaller hawk mumbled.
April
Mathias woke up to the sun shining on his face.
"Spring!" he cried, jumping up. "Spring is here! At last!"
"Shadd'p, Mads," Berwald mumbled sleepily using his paw to bring the cat closer to him.
"But it's spring!"
"He said shut up," muttered Emil, with his eyes still closed, from the blanket nest where he was leaning against Lukas.
"Let's play! Tino?" Mathias asked with his tail wagging, but all he got in response was a soft, warning growl from Berwald.
"Lukas?" he whined. The hawk cracked open one eye to see the dog looking dejectedly at him.
Lukas sighed. "Fine. Get off me, Emil." Emil shifted over and Lukas stretched his wings before flying over and landing on Mathias' back.
"You're taking me outside because of this. So, mush."
"I'm not a sled dog," Mathias chuckled but walked outside with the hawk on his back anyway.
"Don't care."
When they got outside, Lukas immediately took off to the air as Mathias bounded on some budding flowers. He ran around in the grass for a while, relishing in the fact that there's no more snow or slushy stuff on the ground. Finally, he flopped down on to his side and laid on the grass. Lukas came over and landed on him.
"What? You wore yourself out already?"
"Nah," panted Mathias. "I'm just enjoying the sun." Lukas didn't say anything in response. He just watched the dog's peaceful expression for a while.
"You're too fat," Lukas said breaking the silence as he walked on Mathias' side. His talons kept getting tangled up in the long fur.
"I'm not fat, I'm fluffy!" Mathias cried getting up off of the grass.
"I could make a nest out of you." Lukas said more to himself, ignoring the other's comment.
"You better not pull out any fur. That hurts," Mathias warned.
"I won't," Lukas said with a roll of his eyes. "Though I thought Great Pyrenees didn't have this long of fur?"
"They usually don't," Mathias said as he walked them towards the town. "I think I sort of take after my grandfather. He was an Old English Sheepdog."
Lukas snorted. "Are you serious?"
"Yep!"
"And just when I thought you couldn't look anymore derpier."
"Hey!"
Some Month Soon After
"Hei Berwald?" Tino asked looking up at the large dog who was guarding the room (not that it needed to be guarded. He just felt the need to protect his home).
"Hm?"
"Y'know how I was talking to that nice tabby down the street the other day? The one with all of the kittens?"
"Ja?" Berwald looked at Tino curiously, not sure where the conversation was going.
"Well, I want to have kittens! Can you give me some Berwald?" And with that many things happened at once. Berwald choked and blushed heavily, while Emil coughed and flapped his wings uncomfortably from where he was sitting at the other side of the room. Lukas and Mathias had just entered the room as Tino had said that and Lukas looked absolutely furious while Mathias looked like he would die of laughter if he wasn't in so much pain at the moment.
"Oh my god Lukas! Retract your claws!" Mathias yelped.
"They're talons," Lukas replied not taking his eyes off of Berwald, but he did as he was asked anyway and Mathias breathed a sigh of relief. Berwald was looking extremely uncomfortable and not just from Lukas' glare.
"Well, this is my cue to leave," Emil said readying his wings.
"Why?" Tino asked tilting his head.
"Because… oh god, I don't wanna talk about this!"
"Nonsense, Emil," Lukas said hopping off of Mathias and towards Tino. "After all, we never talked about the birds and the bees. It's only natural… sort of."
Mathias and Berwald paled.
"Hey buddy," Mathias started. "Do ya wanna…?"
"Hell yes," Berwald replied, and they both took running out of the room.
"Traitors!" Emil called after them. Tino looked even more confused.
"Why are they scared? I mean, you guys are birds. And bees are only scary when you try to eat them."
"Well, it's not that- when did you try eating a bee?" Lukas shook his head. "Never mind, it's not important. Now, the first thing you need to know is that, well, your anatomy and our anatomy are… different."
"Oh my god," Emil groaned. "I refuse to be related to you!" Then Emil quickly took off out of the room sparing the horribly embarrassing conversation. He quickly spotted Berwald and Mathias and bonded with them for a few hours.
After that, Tino never asked for kittens again. (Though he still secretly wanted them. They look so cute!)
May
"And then the idiot has the gall to mock me again!" Emil complained to his brother. The two hawks were taking a short break and decided to stretch their wings for a while. After all, it's not very often they get to fly like this with their furry friends around. "God I hate fish!" Emil groaned.
Lukas chuckled. "He sounds interesting, Emil. Why haven't I heard of him before a few months ago?"
"Because! He's a fish!" Emil cried as if it explained everything.
"So?" Lukas said. "Our brother's a cat who's in love with a beas- I mean, a dog."
"You are never going to forgive him are you?" Emil asked eyeing his older brother.
"Nope. He tainted our younger brother. I'm surprised you're even hanging out with him."
Emil rolled his eyes. "He didn't taint our younger brother."
Lukas hmphed and was about to argue with him when a shrill cry was heard from above them. They glanced at each other then looked up only to find a gigantic bird flying above them. He was larger than them and had a wingspan almost twice as long as Lukas'. He was a bald eagle. Lukas gave a warning cry as the bird dived towards them.
"Hi guys!" the eagle said happily, easily flying next to them. "Think you can help me out?"
Lukas and Emil glanced at each other bewildered. "Sure…" started Lukas. "What do you need?"
"Wonderin' about this city. See, I'm lookin' for a nice place to stay for a while, but I'm new here. Do you guys live here? Oh, I'm Alfred by the way!" the eagle said proudly.
"Yes, we live here," Lukas answered. "I'm Lukas and this is my younger brother Emil. We are from the eastern side of the city. It's a decent place. It has plenty of rivers and lakes along with squirrels and mice."
"The fish could be better," Emil grumbled.
Alfred chuckled. "Well, mice won't do me much good. You say the fish isn't great here?"
"He's exaggerating," Lukas said hitting his brother lightly.
"What about bugs or bird feeders? Plenty of those around?"
Emil looked at Alfred strangely. "How the fuck would we know? Does it look like we eat that shit?"
"Emil, be nice," Lukas reprimanded. "From what I've seen, the humans do have quite a few feeders but I think you'll find them more on the outskirts. There are quite a few in the north at the houses near the lake I think."
Alfred nodded then called back behind them, "Ya hear that Artie? They said there are bird feeders here!"
"Bloody hell! Stop flying so bleeding fast!" came the reply from a robin behind them, beating his wings furiously trying to catch up to them. The brothers had to do a double take just to be sure that that's what they were actually seeing.
"Sorry Artie!"
"Arthur! You twat!" Arthur corrected angrily. The brothers and Alfred slowed down their flying slightly so the robin could keep up.
"Uh…" Emil started. "So are you two…? The brothers like us part went unsaid. Emil figured it was implied. Apparently not.
"Yep!" Alfred said. "We're lovers!" Emil and Lukas both blushed as well as Arthur.
"Don't say it like that!" Arthur cried.
"We've been together for – how long Artie?"
"2 and a half years. And don't call me that!"
"Aw, c'mon Artie! You look tired, do you want a ride?"
"Of course, I'm tired! I've been chasing after you all day! And no, I don't want a ride. I'm perfectly capable of flying."
"But the hero should always help others in need!"
"I'm not in need!"
Alfred looked over at the amused brothers. "Hey! Thanks for the help by the way!" Then he turned to his… partner? Mate? "C'mon Artie! Get on!"
"No!" Arthur replied stubbornly but Alfred snatched the little robin in his talons anyway.
"A robin and an eagle… isn't that a bit weird?" Lukas asked after a long moment of watching Alfred and Arthur bicker as they flew off towards the north.
"At least they're both birds…" Emil said pointedly to Lukas who glared at his brother.
"At least mine's not food," Lukas snapped back.
"Shut up! And he's not mine! He just stalks me!"
Early June
"Hey guys," Emil said as he flew over to his friends who were enjoying the nice, warm weather outside near the river. Tino was lying on top of Berwald who was napping in the grass. Lukas was on top of Mathias, buried in his fur like a nest. He kept sending small glares to Berwald ever now and then. Mathias was playing with a dandelion.
"Hi Emil!" Tino called causing Berwald to wake up.
"How was the flight?" asked Lukas from his "nest".
"Not bad. Oh, Alfred and Arthur says 'hi'."
"Who?" asked Mathias.
"Some birds we met a few weeks ago. They were… interesting," Lukas said and Mathias frowned a bit. Emil landed on the ground near them.
"Oh! That reminds me" Tino said jumping off of Berwald's back. "We have a neighbor! Have you guys met him yet?" The others shook their heads.
"What neighbor?" asked Emil.
"Here! I'll go get him! Wait here!" Tino said excitedly before bounding off.
"What neighbor?" Emil asked again. The others just shrugged.
"Didn't ev'n know we coul' have neighbors here," Berwald said.
"Apparently, we already do," Lukas replied.
"Guys!" Tino said running back. "I want you to meet Lars!" Behind him was a fluffy, adorable brown rabbit. Emil and Lukas looked at it confused while Mathias bounded up to it with his tail wagging.
"Hi! I'm Mathias! Aren't you cute~!" Mathias cooed and put his snout to the ground. The rabbit glared at the over-excited canine.
"I'm not 'cute'," came the deep reply. Mathias leaped back in shock and Tino laughed.
Lukas watched as the silly dog poked the rabbit with a large paw and bark at him excitedly. Emil came up beside him.
"Why are all of our friends food?" he asked annoyed. Lukas just chuckled in return.
"Hey, Emmy~ Don't, like, forget about me!" cried Xiao from the water effectively pissing off Emil.
"Yeah, Emil," teased Lukas. "Don't forget about your boyfriend!"
"He's not my-!"
"Whaaaaat!?" cried Tino. "Emil has a boyfriend?!"
"No, I don't!"
"Way to go Emmy!" Mathias said ignoring the younger hawk and Berwald nodded.
"Ber! Don't take their side!" Emil argued.
"Come to me, my love~!" the fish cried from the water causing the others to laugh as Emil blushed darkly.
"I give up with this family," he groaned.
Fin
A/N
Forgot to mention that this story would only be two parts in the last author's note, but I hoped you liked them! I certainly enjoyed making this story! ^^
Wish I could've put more Xiao in this but hey, I added him in at the end xD
Lol, I messed up when saving the first part of this and saved it as "The Greatest Family is" by an accident. xD
Oh and thanks to my friend, Ana, for coming up with half of these scenarios :D
Tell me what ya think! :D And thanks for reading!