[hr][i][h1][color=salmon]Haruka Takashiro[/color], & [color=00ff7f]Rori Aherne[/color].[/h1]
[sup](Collaboration between [@tsukune] and [@FernStone])[/sup][/i]

[hr][hider=God Eater 2: Rage Burst - On The Way Home With You][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De5d0HJFKIk[/youtube][/hider][hr]
[b][code]Little Seapond, Roseview, 09:00 PM_[/code][/b]

Three days had passed since Shizuka came back to Baybridge; after the few brief meetings on the first day, Haruka hadn't seen his twin at all. Holly had informed him and his aunt that right now RAVEN was involved with two troublesome cases, so they were unable to drop by Roseview for the time being.

Dinnertime had been oddly quiet too - since the little conversation they had at the party two nights ago, his aunt hadn't talk about her past with the twins' parents again. Haruka felt that he shouldn't probe her further for now. Not when the two of them were feeling equally worried about Shizuka.

Akemi turned on the TV and sat down on the sofa, staring at the screen blankly when the news about the incident at the party came on; Haruka chose to leave her alone, and walked towards the front door. He stepped outside, and stretched out his arms with closed eyes - ah, the cool breeze tonight felt good against his skin.

Maybe he should go up higher to enjoy the wind better, without much obstruction from the other buildings around.

He willed the air to gather around his feet, until a small vortex formed beneath him, pushing him off the ground. He continued to pull more air towards him, and he was rising up higher and higher... until he was at level with the gently-slanted rooftop of their cottage house. He hopped off the tornado and landed on the roof, waving the whirlwind away where it dispersed into the night, blending back with the light breeze again.

He moved to the center of the rooftop and sat down. He didn't know if this was a side effect from his ability, but after the awakening of his air manipulation power, he had taken a liking for high places. He enjoyed the feeling of the wind caressing his face, the feeling of being closer to the open sky...

The sound of fluttering wings pulled him out of his peaceful thoughts. He turned his head around; landing beside him was a kestrel.

Rori had just been enjoying a somewhat scenic fly, choosing the form of a kestrel due to it having a bit more stamina than the robin they normally stuck with (since she knew it the best). However as they had been flying the air had begun to feel a little... weird. It seemed to be pulling them in one direction, at least. It was easy enough for them to spot the source of this - they were luckily looking in the right direction and had very good vision as a bird (even more so than their enhanced human vision). 

And so they decided the best course of action - land beside this person who had been pulling air towards him. As they landed rather ungracefully beside Haruka, Rori let out a quiet series of tweets and looked curiously up at him. They could change back to human form, but they felt like that would just freak someone out. And anyway every time they changed they ended up incredibly hungry. They'd just have to change back in the end.

Though Rori didn't look much different from normal kestrels, if a bit undersized, it was obvious that their actions weren't entirely birdlike - especially the curiosity they seemed to hold towards Haruka.

Haruka watched the little bird's clumsy landing - which was odd, and that attracted his interest towards it. Then he remembered; it was probably due to his power that he accidentally sucked the poor thing towards him in its mid-flight. "I'm sorry," he murmured. He thought of extending out a hand to the kestrel, but decided against it, thinking that he might frighten it further. "I hope it's alright..." Even so, he couldn't help feeling that this bird was more than what it seemed: for one, it was too still, completely unafraid of his presence...

Almost like it could actually understand his words and actions.

He continued to stare at it. "...Can you understand me?" Well, if Metahumans could exist, he shouldn't feel too surprised about the possibility of animals with intelligence on par with human beings.

Rori stared back at Haruka for a moment, tweeting a bit in what seemed like words to them before realising that that wasn't going to cut it as a response. They could understand human language but normal people couldn't really understand bird language. Eventually they manage to nod their head in response to the understanding question. It was a bit of an awkward gesture, trying to make sure it was obvious what it was, but they got it done. They moved slightly where they were, tucking their wings properly in. They were pretty tired from flying in this direction and this was a decent enough spot to rest.

And the person had already seemed to realise that Rori wasn't a normal kestrel - which was cool! They didn't even need to turn back into their normal form of a human for that to be noticed!

Haruka was intrigued at the response he received from the kestrel - it nodded at him, and that clearly was a human gesture. He couldn't understand the tweets and chirps the little bird was making, but that nod was good enough for him. As he studied the kestrel, it appeared to be tired - a long flight journey, maybe? Was it also hungry, and would need some food to recharge itself?

He placed an open palm slowly before the little bird. "Do you want to come into my house to rest? I can get you something to eat, if you want."

The mention of food made Rori perk up. Food?! They were a little hungry... and would on be more so when they changed later. Having something to eat now would help them be less hungry later. In response they gave another funny nod before looking down at Haruka's open palm. They regarded it for a moment, not entirely sure what to do. If they stepped onto his palm there was a chance that they might hurt him. Their claws were rather sharp, after all kestrels did hunt and needed that, and there was no way for them to make them less sharp. After a little bit of consideration they flapped their wings slightly to let themselves rise into the air slightly before coming to land, a bit more gracefully, on Haruka's shoulder. It wasn't the most stable position - but there was clothing here between Rori's sharp claws and his skin. So it was better.

They were pretty sure their decision to land on his shoulder would be answer enough about coming into the house.

Haruka's face fell with disappointment when the kestrel flew away - but it didn't and landed on his shoulder instead, which surprised him. Though its talons prickled through his shirt to his skin a little, he didn't feel any pain. "Hang on a bit," he said as he stood up and moved to the edge of the roof, while gathering some air below, acting as an invisible cushion when he jumped down.

...His landing was as bad as the kestrel's, but at least both of them weren't hurt. Still, the loud thump had alerted his aunt; she rushed to the front door. "[i]Haruka?[/i]" Akemi called out, worried. "[i]What just happened?[/i]"

"[i]N-Nothing,[/i]" Haruka got to his feet and replied. He gestured to the kestrel on his shoulder. "[i]I accidentally attracted this little one when I used my power just now. Can I bring it into the house? It seems to be hungry and tired.[/i]"

Akemi raised an eyebrow at the small falcon-like bird. "[i]I'm fine with that, but... it doesn't seem to be the kind suitable to keep as domestic pets.[/i]"

"[i]I understand.[/i]" Haruka nodded to his aunt and stepped into the house. "[i]I'm just taking care of it for the night as an apology for making it lost its way; I'll let it go tomorrow morning.[/i]" Or it would probably be gone on its own when he woke up the next day.

He brought the kestrel to the kitchen, pulling open the refrigerator. "Hmm... I wonder what you like to eat?" he asked the bird in a low voice, making sure that Akemi wouldn't hear him talking to a bird.

Rori had been incredibly confused for a short while, as another person appeared and started speaking some language they didn't understand to the person whose shoulder they were standing on - whom they now knew was named Haruka. They just remained silent and still, more so than a normal kestrel would, until they were brought to the kitchen.

Well, this was going to be interesting. They weren't really entirely sure what they could eat as a kestrel that wasn't freshly killed rodents - something that they had eaten in the past. Still, Rori leaned forward slightly to peer into the fridge. They at least knew what kind of food was poisonous for birds of different types - it was research they had done a while ago.

Eventually they made their mind up and moved their wing to attempt to point at some cheese that was in the refrigerator. The easiest way to show food they'd eat was to go over to it but they didn't exactly want to go into the refrigerator and possibly ruin some of the stuff in there. So instead they settle for awkwardly pointing.

Haruka was amazed by another human-like gesture the kestrel had performed - the way it tried to point at the cheese reminded him of a similar, comical gesture portrayed in many cartoons... This time in real life, and right before his own eyes. He was somewhat taken aback that it picked the cheese - he thought that it might have chosen some form of meat, given its predatory features (falcon-like curved breaks and sharp talons).

He pulled out the cheese and closed the fridge, then set the cheese on the kitchen table. He helped to remove the plastic wrapping around the cheese before he placed it on a plate. "There you go."

Rori gave a happy chirp as the cheese was place on a plate, hopping off of Haruka's shoulder and onto the table. They had, in the end, gone for cheese because the thought of eating raw, and possibly processed, meat didn't appeal to the human side of them - even if it did to the more bird like sections of her mind (but those would have also rather gone out hunting). And anyway, they had ran out of cheese at home and Max was yet to buy any more.

They bent forward and began pecking at the cheese, breaking it into smaller pieces before eating those pieces. They ate a reasonable amount for a bird - though not in comparison to bird standards. Once done they moved away from the plate and back onto Haruka's shoulder (though it was a bit of a task, now being as full as they were). They were obviously quite content now, almost sleepy, after eating.

Haruka really enjoyed watching the kestrel's every move - besides, it was a rare chance that he could study one so up-close other than those caged up in the zoo. He raised his other hand to stroke the bird's head, but he stopped himself quickly. "Uh... can I pat on your head?" he asked uncertainly.

Rori hesitated for a moment. There was a weird difference between the human instinct of 'that's odd' and the bird instinct of 'strange human' contrasting with the bird knowledge that it would be quite nice. In the end they nodded their head. What harm could it bring? They were a bird at the moment (and slowly beginning to think more like one).

Haruka beamed at the kestrel. He knew that he shouldn't feel too attached to this bird from the wild, and it would be gone from his life once the sun rises the next day... but he couldn't help feeling fond of it.

Not as a pet, but as a friend.

The logical side of him was laughing inwardly at his stupidity. [i]Is it even possible? Even if it looks like it's smarter than any normal avian of its kind, it's ultimately still[/i] not [i]a human.[/i] The emotional side begged to differ, that it felt this bird was definitely a friend.

A friend he really hope to be able to meet again.

[hr]
[b][code] The next day_[/code][/b]

Rori had ended up falling asleep at Haruka's, though they hadn't particularly meant to. They were sure it would be fine - Max was too busy working to worry about them anyway. They had retained their bird form overnight. A day was hardly the longest they'd stayed as a bird, though it meant the change back would probably be more painful than normal. And they really were getting a craving to go out and hunt which was never a good sign.

They huffed slightly, hopping about a bit to try and find some kind of open window or something to get out of. They had enjoyed their short stay, even if it had been as a bird. Haruka had seemed nice - he had treated Rori well and even fed them. Rori hoped that they'd meet when Rori was in their more normal, human form. It was just be a bit [i]weird[/i] to change now.

They eventually found a way out and hovered in the air outside for just a moment, before flying away. They felt like maybe they'd made a friend - even if it was in an odd way.

... ...

By the time Haruka woke up from his deep slumber, the kestrel was indeed gone, leaving nothing behind but a single brown feather on the ledge of the half-opened window in his room.

He stretched and stood up, walking over to the window and he picked the feather up, slotting it between a book on his desk. He then turned his head to look out of the window.

[i]A friend he really hope to be able to meet again...[/i]