Thunk thunk thunk.

Cielan opened his heavy eyes, his vision blurry as they adjusted to bright light shining through his window. 

"Wake up, dear. We've got to be at the church for nine." The cheerful voice of Mrs. Breling called out from the other side of the door. Cielan turned his head and looked at the small digital clock on the bedside table. 8:09. Ugh, slept in.

"I’m up," he said, his voice hoarse and groggy. He almost sounded like a man. As he rolled to the side of the bed and tried to swing a leg onto the floor, a jolt of pain shot through his lower body as stuck tail feathers were suddenly pulled apart. Memories of the previous night washed over him and he fell back onto his side. Such an idiot. His first time with anyone and it bordered on being rape. And yet, who did he have to blame but himself? He knew what he was getting into. He knew where he was going. Why did he hope it would be something more? He wallowed in self-pity for a few more minutes before another set of knocks echoed through the room.

“Hurry up, fledgeling!” came the shrill voice of Taavai, one of the girls living in the home. 

Cielan pushed himself back up and put his head in his palms. “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” He slipped out of bed, tiptoed to a plain and unstable dresser, trying his best to avoid ripping out any more feathers. After finding some clothes that didn’t look too girly—it’s not like he had much of a wardrobe of his own—he wobbled out of the room and toward the stairs. He crept down the stairs, trying to avoid too much hip motion, and passed by the living room, where Taavai, the wolf, and Raksha, the panther, were arguing.

"No, it is definitely not," Raksha said, her raspy, deep voice still somewhat harsh to Cielan’s ears. Cielan rather liked Raksha. Despite her intimidating appearance—tall, fit, and rough-hewn—she was usually friendly, if a little impatient. Cielan looked over at the gesticulating wolf next to her.

"It is!" the wolf said in a much higher, much whinier voice. Taavai, on the other hand, was grating to Cielan. She was even taller than Raksha, but in considerably worse shape. She was confrontational yet easily set off, and didn’t quite seem to know when to back down. She wasn’t a bad person, he thought, but she definitely needed some work. But hey, who didn’t?

"There is no law against—augh, I do not know why I humour your nonsense," Raksha said, giving up on the argument and storming off.

Cielan shook his head. He didn’t really understand their dynamic. The two seemed inseparable, yet they were constantly squabbling like that. It was always Taavai who would rile up Raksha, and they’d bicker until one of them won… then go back to being friendly a few minutes later. 

Taavai turned her head and glared at Cielan. "What do you think?"

"About what?" Cielan asked. 

Taavai opened her mouth, but stopped and walked up to the bird. Her nose wrinkled as she sniffed and narrowed her eyes. “You stink.”

Cielan froze. Mrs. Breling's sense of smell may have been leaving her, but Taavai was in the prime of her life, and she could track a scent from a mile away. His only hope was that she didn’t know what she was smelling.

"Well, I haven’t had my bath yet," he said, trying to sound casual.

“You have never smelled like this before. Were you having a bath in a ditch?”

“Huh?” 

“Ugh! Go take a bath, stinky bird!” she said before flouncing off after Raksha. Cielan exhaled, grateful at Taavai’s lack of knowledge. As he stumbled into the washroom, the sounds of bickering resumed from another room. He blocked them out of his mind as he turned on the faucet, disrobed, and carefully climbed into the tub. He sank into the bath and spread his legs as the water freed his feathers from their snare. As he soaked in the water, he thought about the day ahead of him. Perhaps some good, honest work would ease his tensions. He couldn't feel worse than he already did, he figured. He sighed as he sank deeper into the tub, with only his head sticking out. The warm water did a lot to ease his still sore muscles, but not much to ease his nerves. When he felt clean enough, he drained the tub and dried off. As he walked out of the washroom and into the kitchen, the pungent odour of cooking halibut filled his nostrils. It wasn’t a scent he liked, but Mrs. Breling knew that, and had already prepared a small bowl of various seeds and fruit. 

“Good morning, Mrs. Breling.”

"Ah, Cielan. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Mrs. Breling," he said. "Umm... sorry again about—"

"Dear, it’s in the past. It won’t happen again, right?"

"Yes, Mrs. Breling."

The bear smiled. "We're off in about ten minutes. Try to finish quickly," she said as she scooped the fish onto a plate and sat down next to the bird. As they scarfed down their food, Raksha and Taavai burst into the kitchen.

"I think you are crazy," Raksha said.

"It can totally work!" 

"Perhaps in a dream."

"Get some breakfast, you two," Mrs. Breling said. “We’re leaving in a moment.”

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry right now, " Taavai said. 

Raksha took some lunch meat out of the refrigerator and chomped on it. "You will be complaining that you are hungry by lunch time," she said, tilting her head back slightly so that none of the food fell out.

"Well, that’s what lunch is for!" Taavai said. 

Raksha threw her head back and rolled her eyes, but didn’t bother retorting.

Cielan finished off his bowl, walked to the front door, and put his shoes on. Not being on an empty stomach helped his mood somewhat, but he was still feeling down. He pushed open the door and made his way outside. The warm sun beat down on his face, counterbalanced by a firm but pleasant breeze which ruffled his feathers. It lifted his spirits a touch. Maybe things weren’t so bad. After just a few seconds of basking, the rest of the group filed out of the house, and they made their way to the church. It was only a block away, and Cielan was thankful for this. Despite the hot bath, his muscles, especially his leg muscles, were still pretty stiff, and if he was going to be moving furniture, he needed every bit of strength he could get. By now, the girls had run ahead, and even at a fair distance, he could clearly hear them quibbling again.

"Alright, easy job, right? Slide a few couches outside, right? No problem, right?" Taavai said.

"You will be tired within fifteen minutes."

"Nuh-uh!"

"You could not even lift that cabinet last week without complaining," Raksha said. "Oooh, so heavy, can you help me with this, owww, my arms," she added, poorly imitating Taavai’s accent.

"It was heavy!"

"And do you think that we will be moving bags of air?"

Taavai fell silent for a moment. "Well... know what I do think?"

"What?"

"That I can beat you there!" Taavai said as she broke into a sprint. Raksha shook her head and, after a few seconds, took off in a faster dash. She overtook the wolf and disappeared around the corner as she bolted to the church. 

Mrs. Breling shook her head. "Can you believe that they’re in their twenties?" she said, looking at Taavai as the wolf slowed down.

"Why does she always challenge Raksha like that? She never wins," Cielan said.

"I don't know. She’s a strange one. Stubborn. It can be helpful sometimes, but…." she said, trailing off. She lowered her voice and looked down at Cielan. 

"Dear, I know I said it’s in the past, but… are you sure you’re okay?" 

Cielan looked at his feet. He had been trying to avoid thinking about it.

"I'm really sorry—"

"My boy, I did not ask for another apology. I asked if you are okay."

"I… think so. It’s just… hard, you know?" he said with the precision of a musket.

"What is?"

Cielan wasn’t sure how to elaborate. "I wish… I had some friends," he said. “I enjoy spending time with you and the girls, but…”

“Oh, no, dear, I understand. A boy like you should have boy friends.”

Cielan had to fight to keep a straight face. He knew what she was saying, but that’s not how he heard it.

“Y-yeah, something like that,” he said, almost too evenly. Mrs. Breling seemed satisfied with the answer, and they walked together in silence until they reached the front steps of the church. 

It was a modest brick structure, barely taller than the houses surrounding it. There was no obvious religious imagery, and could have passed for an old-time home if not for the sign that said "WEST POSTERN TEMPLE OF OUR LORD" on the lawn near the sidewalk. Raksha was standing at ease with her arms crossed next to the sign while Taavai was hunched over next to it, breathing hard.

"You are extraordinarily out of shape," the panther said.

"I just needed to warm up a little," Taavai said between breaths.

"She's right, Taavai. You should get out and run around more often. Maybe work off a little bit of that weight," Mrs. Breling said as she and Cielan caught up. 

Taavai groaned and pulled herself upright. "I'm not fat," she said as her ears drooped. She didn't talk back to Mrs. Breling like she did to Raksha, but Cielan could see a little more teeth than he usually could.

"No, not yet," Mrs. Breling said, unfazed. "But take it from an old grizzly—it’ll creep up on you if you don’t move your behind more!"

Taavai sighed as the group walked through the front doors of the church. The inside was not much more impressive than the rest of the building, with a few rows of plain brown pews on either side facing an altar, and very little else. 

"Nev! We're here!" Mrs. Breling said, her voice booming around the austere interior. Cielan recoiled a little, surprised that she could make such a powerful sound. A tall cardinal poked his head through a doorway along the side wall.

"Ahhh, Judith," the bird said as he stepped out of the room. He appeared roughly middle aged, though Cielan knew from experience that it could be hard to tell with birds. His face was tall like the rest of him, with a slight thinning of the black feathers around his beak. His dress reflected the church—a simple brown robe, lacking any frills or symbols. He clapped his hands together as he approached the group. "So good to see you. You too, Raksha, Taavai." The cardinal said before his gaze fell upon the blue jay. "My apologies, I don't believe we've met, miss..." 

Taavai snorted as she giggled. "Cielan’s a boy!" she said with a big grin on her face. The man's eyes widened, but he recovered quickly.

"I beg your apology, Cielan. I'm Nev Kova, and I'm the rector of this church. Please, call me Nev."

Cielan smiled and extended his hand, which Nev shook. "Thank you, sir. It's nice to meet you." 

"Nev is fine, Cielan. Well then, you're here to help with the mess in the back room, I understand?"

"That's right, Nev," Mrs. Breling said. "Always happy to help. I think it'll all do us some good."

"Reliable as always, Judith. Well, then. Follow me,” Nev said, walking toward a door near the altar. “We were just about to get started, so you’ll be a big help.”

“We?” Mrs. Breling asked.

“Yes… my son actually agreed to help,” Nev said, the sound of his voice tapering off toward the end of the sentence.

"Lairo is here?" Mrs. Breling said, her voice going in the opposite direction. "Goodness, I haven't seen him since he was a wee lad."

"Indeed…" Nev replied, his voice no nearer than before. "He said he never really was comfortable at the temple. I never understood why. He won't tell me."

Mrs. Breling shook her head. "I don't understand it either. Your family’s run such a welcoming church for so long. How old is he now, anyway?"

"He turned twenty a few weeks ago."

"My, how they grow."

"Like the blink of an eye." Nev said, brightening up a little. He twisted the knob and threw open the door. "Well, the furniture is down here. It was donated to us a few weeks back, but we don't really have the means to move it, so I rented out a truck for the day.”

“Where’s it going?” Cielan asked.

“The furniture? Rozen House.”

Cielan perked up a bit. He knew of Rozen House. They were a charity in the area that provided assistance to help people out of homelessness. "Let's get started then," he said, a fire lit beneath him. 

Nev nodded and stepped into the room, the group following behind him. He moved past some shelves and stopped, putting his hands on his hips. "What, tired already?"  

Cielan peered around Nev's shoulder. Slouched forward on a chair was a tiny cardinal in long shorts and a loose-fitting t-shirt. His feathers were a brilliant red that looked hot to the touch, and his crown stood straight up, giving him the impression that he was much taller than he actually was. And it looked like he could use all the help he could get. He got to his feet as everyone filed in, and Cielan's suspicion was confirmed. Even with his towering crest, the cardinal was about the same height as him—and Cielan was already very short to begin with.

"Gosh, he still is a wee lad," Mrs. Breling whispered.

“Nev, you remember Judith Breling, right?”

The cardinal smiled and waved. "Hiya!" he said. "It's been so long, Mrs. Breling!"

Cielan felt something in his stomach turn. The songbird’s voice was fairly high pitched, just like his own, but there was a soft, gentle quality to it that felt musical.

"It has, Lairo! Are you well these days?" Mrs. Breling said.

"Oh..." he said, with much less pep in his voice. "You take the good with the bad. How's Mr. Breling these days?"

Nev seized up, but Mrs. Breling didn't miss a beat.

"He lives at God’s side now," she said, her tone unchanging. 

Lairo's shoulders sagged. "Oh, I didn't know. I'm so sorry," he said as he looked down at his feet.

"I'm fine, lad. I’ve made my peace," she said before gesturing to her entourage. “And I’m still keeping good company.” 

Lairo surveyed the occupants of the room. "Oh... hello. I'm Lairo." Cielan watched the cardinal’s gaze sweep past the wolf and panther before their eyes locked on to each others’. There was something enchanting about him. Lairo's face was round for a bird's, and his thick black facial feathers only accentuated his deep amber eyes. Lairo’s face slowly crept into a smile, and Cielan’s heart fluttered a bit. Oh, man. He was really, really cute.

"Cielan?" he heard Mrs. Breling ask.

"O-Oh, hey, I'm Cielan," he said, snapping out of his trance. His cheeks felt hot.

“Lairo,” the cardinal said, looking away and scratching his neck.

"Alright, everyone. Shall we get to work? I'll let you guys handle this. Lairo, you come with me," Nev said. Cielan’s heart dropped a touch; he was really hoping to talk to the cardinal.

As he walked out of the room with his father, Lairo stole a look at Cielan, and their eyes made contact again for a brief moment before the red birds disappeared from the room. 

“Okay, muscles. Get lifting,” Taavai said, elbowing Cielan in the ribs.

And so they went to work. There was quite a lot of furniture, but piece by piece, the group cleared out the room. After a little bit, Nev and Lairo came out of the side room and began helping out. The blue jay’s desire to talk to him continued to rise, but it was a little difficult to stop and chat when you were one half of a chair's locomotion. Cielan's muscles burned as the minutes turned to hours, but he didn't complain. He felt motivated—more motivated than he had felt since, well, last night. But aside from that, for quite a long time! He did feel a little guilty, though. Sure, he was happy to help a good cause, but he was losing his concentration. Lairo was always with his father, the two doing their own thing, and he never had a chance to stop and chat.

"Augh, I'm staaarving," Taavai said as she hauled a sofa with Raksha. Cielan stepped out of the way as yet another bickering session began..

"Perhaps you should have eaten breakfast," Raksha said.

"But I wasn't hungry then!"

"Then perhaps you should not have eaten so much before bed."

"But I was hungry then!"

"You are simply..." Raksha began as her voice faded into the distance. Cielan walked back into the room and picked up the single remaining end table. He hauled it outside, where Mrs. Breling was standing with everyone else.

"That's everything, I believe," the grizzly said. 

"Yep," Cielan said as she helped him lift the table into the truck.

"Lovely. Everyone did a great job today."

“Couldn’t have done it without you,” Nev said. “Thank you again for all the help. Listen, we’re about to open up for lunch… usually, we try to limit meals to the needy, but given what you’ve done for us today…”

Mrs. Breling opened her mouth, but Taavai beat her to it.

"That sounds great!" she said as she skipped past the tall bird and into the church. Raksha tagged behind her, and Mrs. Breling dropped her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, Nev," she said with a weary smile. Nev chuckled as the two walked back to church.

Cielan was acutely aware that it was now just him and Lairo. He wanted to turn around and talk to him, but he suddenly felt apprehensive. He had been waiting to talk to the cardinal all day, and now he had the perfect opportunity. But what should he say? He didn’t want to say the wrong thing and look stupid. What if he made a fool of himself? What if Lairo didn’t—

"Hey, Cielan! You staying for lunch too?" Lairo chirped behind him. The sound of his voice shot adrenaline through his veins. It was sweet like a ripe ambrosia apple. 

"Oh, yeah," Cielan said, twisting around on his heels. He couldn't stop staring into the cardinal’s radiant eyes. When he was homeless, he would often gaze at the night sky before falling asleep. The brightly burning stars gave him comfort, as if to say that even in the dark, there would always be light. When he looked into Lairo’s amber eyes, surrounded entirely by black feathers, he got the same feeling. His face curled into a big smile.

“Awesome! Let’s go eat!” Lairo said, smiling and jogging back into the church. Cielan kept up, but his legs were sore not only from the work he did today, but his misadventures of the previous night. The tightness locked him up, and the memories flooded back. They mocked and chastised him. What do you think you’re doing? You got a crush on someone you just met? Trying to get hurt again? Get over yourself, idiot. He looked at the ground and rubbed his eyes, trying to get it to stop. Of course they’re not stopping. It’s what you deserve for being such a fool. You actually think someone would love—

“Cielan?”

Cielan looked up at Lairo, who was a few strides away. The cardinal’s eyes didn’t seem to be glowing as much anymore, and he doubled back to the blue jay.

“You okay?”

“Uh, yeah. Just… sorer than I thought,” Cielan said. It was only a half-lie, but he felt bad. He wanted to tell the truth, to pour his heart out to this cute little red bird. There was just something about him…

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize!”

“Huh? No, it’s not your fault.”

“I’ll walk slower. So, uh… how’s it going? I mean, aside from the legs.”

Cielan’s heart fluttered a little. Was he… being considerate? And taking an interest in him? He wasn’t even sure what to say. Doesn’t that figure… he spent all day waiting to talk to Lairo and now that he has a chance, his mind goes dry.

“Ah, not bad… uh, how about you?” he said as they walked into the church.

“Well… could be worse.”

Cielan was curious about what he meant, but before he could ask, Nev strode over to them.

“Ah, there you two are. The carnivores are off at another table, but I picked out some food for you. Please, take as much as you need.” He gestured to a table with a bowl of nuts, fruits, and seeds set out. The boys sat down next to each other and picked out some food that was on offer. Cielan loaded his plate with various berries and seeds, while Lairo seemed to prefer a mix of fruit and nuts. As they began eating, Cielan began to cramp again.

"Ah, my legs…" he said, extending his feet forward, trying to get a good stretch.

"Hey… just means you were getting lots done!" Lairo said. "You must be pretty strong to move all that stuff for so long," he added with noticeably less pep.

Cielan had to suppress a snort. Me? Strong?

"Oh, no... I'm not very strong at all. My arms and legs are killing me."

Lairo looked down at his bowl.

"Aw, I'm sorry. It's a bit much for me," he mumbled. "My dad knows I'm not very strong, so that's why I didn't help you guys."

"Wait, huh? I saw you helping out," Cielan said.

"Yeah, with some of the lighter stuff… you know, lamps, drawers… stuff that weaklings can carry."

“It all adds up! And hey, don’t call yourself that!” Cielan said, trying to restore some of the cardinal's confidence. After a period of awkward silence, he added, "your dad's really cool to donate all of that stuff."

"He's nice like that. Always says that we're blessed and that we should help those who aren't… lucky like us." Lairo said. 

Cielan couldn't help but notice faint traces of skepticism in the last few words. 

"So, umm... you're living with Mrs. Breling? How'd that happen?" Lairo asked before he cracked open a nut. Cielan paused with an apple at the tip of his beak.

"Er... yeah," he said. "I... um, used to be homeless.”

"Oh no..." Lairo said. "I'm so sorry… I had no idea…" 

"No, not at all! It’s alright… I’m doing better now."

"Mmm..." Lairo looked away. "The thought of going homeless really scares me."

"Oh... well, I don't think you need to worry about that. Your dad seems pretty great."

"Mmm..." Lairo said again, with a bit of a whine dripping off the end. He sighed and stared across the table. The birds continued their meal, but Cielan got a bit worried by the faraway look in Lairo's eyes.

"Hey, everything okay with you?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. Just... thinking," Lairo said, his voice off in the distance where his gaze was. They spent another quiet moment before Lairo spoke up again, his voice barely above a whisper. "Umm... hey, if it's not a problem to ask... why were you homeless?"

Cielan paused. The smell of smoke filled his nostrils, and his stomach turned. He put his apple core on the table and sat still for a moment.

"Never mind. Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. Don't worry about it." Lairo said, the words running together.

"No… it’s fine. There was a fire…" Cielan said, “only I got out.”

Lairo gasped. "Please forgive me," he said, his voice strained. "I shouldn’t have asked. I didn't mean—"

Cielan lifted his hand and shook his head. "No, no, I've… made my peace." Well, that wasn't exactly true. You never truly made peace with something like that, but he could tell Lairo was getting upset, and he felt... strongly motivated to avoid that outcome. Lairo looked down at his bowl.

"I just can't imagine..." Lairo said, his voice shaking. Cielan took a close look at Lairo. His eyes seemed to be shimmering… he wasn’t going to cry, was he?

"Lairo, it's okay! You couldn’t have possibly known," Cielan said, trying to keep his voice chipper.

"You're definitely stronger than me," Lairo said, still staring at his bowl. 

Cielan cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

Lairo sighed. “It’s just me and dad… about a decade back, my mother… well…” he said, before his throat closed on him.

“Ah, man… my turn to feel like a jerk. I’m sorry.”

Lairo shook his head. “It’s cool,” he said, his voice coming back to him. “I guess it’s something we have in common, huh?” he added, forcing a slight laugh out.

They both ate a bit more, the silence broken only by the occasional sound of 

"So... are you in school?" Cielan asked, trying to slice through it.

"Oh, yeah! I go to R. C. Tech and study computer science," Lairo said, a bit of energy returning to him. "I'm, um, a bit of a nerd."

"Neat!" Cielan said. "I like computers, too." Well, at least what he remembered of them. 

"Cool!" Lairo said, gesticulating as he twisted toward Cielan. "Have you heard much about that new CPU manufacturing process? The tunneling problem is such a pain, isn’t it?" 

Cielan gawked at him as he peeled an orange. Yeah, he understood some of those words.

"Um... I haven't really had the opportunity to use computers much in the past few years, so…"

Lairo rubbed his forehead.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I—."

Cielan realized he found his foot in the door. "I'd like to get back into that kinda stuff, though! Maybe I could scrape together some money for a laptop or something."

“Oh, uh… I have one I’m not using, if you want it…" Lairo said, looking away, but keeping Cielan in his peripheral vision.

"What? No way! Aren’t they pretty expensive?" Cielan asked, recoiling slightly.

“It’s just collecting dust, so…”

“Well, I—”

"Fledgeling! It is time to leave!" the deep voice of Raksha boomed from the other side of the chapel. 

Cielan deflated. He just got into a rhythm with Lairo, and now he had to go? “Well… looks like it’s time to leave.”

“Yeah…” Lairo said. "So, uh, hey, do you, like…” Lairo shook his head and sighed. "I haven't really… had any friends in a while, and you seem, uh, cool…" Cielan's heart raced as the cardinal stumbled over his words. He very much wanted to be Lairo's friend.

"Hey, neither have I. It gets lonely sometimes," Cielan said, trying not to sound too excited. 

Lairo hummed and looked back down at the table. "I guess I'm just really shy," he said. "Hey, Cielan? You… wanna come over to my place some time? I've got some video games and movies and I could show you the kind of stuff I do at school and all the tech stuff and I mean if you don't want to that's fine too but I was just thinking—"

Cielan's beak curled into a smile as Lairo's sentence continued running on. He giggled and raised a hand to the cardinal's face.

"That sounds great. I’m not doing anything tonight, so…"

Lairo’s eyes popped wide open. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah!" 

Lairo beamed at him. "I'll go ask dad!" he said, practically fluttering out of his seat as he dashed into a side room. Cielan popped out of his chair and found Mrs. Breling near the front door to the church.

"Content to keep us waiting, are you?" she asked.

"I was talking to Lairo. He invited me over to his place. Is that alright with you? I'll try to be back before dark." 

"Ahhh, making friends are we," Mrs. Breling said, grinning. "You've got all your chores done?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Fine by me, then. It's not healthy for a young man like you to be cooped up in your room all day, and any son of Nev is sure to be a fine boy."

"Thanks! I'll see you later tonight!" Cielan said as he spun around and skipped toward the door that Lairo had disappeared through. He buzzed with equal parts anxiety and excitement. He finally had a friend! Just half a day ago, he was being treated like meat, and now someone was actually interested in having him around. He didn't want to screw this up. He couldn’t.

The door swung open, nearly hitting Cielan, and Lairo leapt out. “He’s cool with it!”

"Awesome! Well, I’m ready," Cielan said. They put on their shoes and left the church, chatting about whatever came to mind. Lairo rambled on about his favourite stuff, and Cielan happily absorbed all of it. He wanted to know everything there was to know about this cute little cardinal, and Lairo seemed happy to oblige. Before he knew it, Cielan was standing in front of a modest brick home on the corner of the block.

Lairo began rummaging around in his pockets. “Where’d I put that… ah, there we go,” he said, pulling out a single key and opening the door.

Cielan followed Lairo into the house. It was plain and fairly bare, which seemed to be a running theme with the Kova family. They walked down a long hallway until they got to Lairo's room. It was small, with a double bed and a large desk taking up most of the space. There was a mess of wires coming from the wall as multiple monitors, a computer, a game console, and a television were all plugged into a power strip, but aside from that, he seemed to keep his room mostly tidy. Not like there was much space on the floor to get messy.

"Sorry about the cramped space," Lairo said. Cielan sat on the bed as Lairo turned on the television and sat on his computer chair. "So, what kind of games do you like?"

"I don’t really know… it’s been a while. Action games, maybe?" 

“Oh man, have I got the game for you…”

Lairo tossed a controller to the blue jay and the two got playing. Cielan forgot just how fun it was to blow a few hours playing a video game, and he was learning how much more fun it is with a friend. They continued their small talk as the hours passed. Cielan was interested in every single thing Lairo had to say, no matter how meaningless or unfamiliar they were. He loved listening to his honey-sweet voice. He loved watching his expressions and gestures. He loved the way his tongue poked out of the front of his beak when the game got intense. He loved… 

Oh no. He loved him, didn’t he? And after just one day? Lairo probably just wanted a friend to talk to about computers and games. Trepidation crept back in. What was he getting himself into? 

As the sun went down, Cielan's eye caught the clock next to the television. It was almost nine. He didn't want to go, but he knew he had no choice. He sighed and looked over at Lairo.

"Ugh... I gotta get going. Mrs. Breling hates when I come home late."

"Aww... alright," said Lairo. Cielan gave him a little smile and pushed himself off the bed. "Hey... uh... are you busy tomorrow?" the cardinal asked, softly.

"I'm never busy these days, aside from my chores." 

"Do you wanna... hang out again?" Lairo asked. 

Cielan looked into his pleading eyes as the light from the television danced on his red and black feathers. The stare went straight to his heart and set it on fire. Damn it. He definitely was falling in love. He managed to catch himself before he started gazing.

"Of course!" he said, perhaps a little too eagerly. "What time?"

Lairo puffed up and grinned. "Oh, well, I have classes in the morning, but any time after... one?"

"Sounds great. I should be done cleaning up by then." 

"Great!" Lairo chirped. "Oh, hey, one more thing…” he said as he hopped out of his chair and leaned over the side of his desk. Cielan couldn’t help but stare at the cardinal’s rear. He could see the faint outline of Lairo’s glutes through his shorts as they tightened around his hunched form. It made him feel…  something. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on—though the stiffening he felt in his groin provided some clues. Mercifully, Lairo shot back up, ending the show, and spun around, holding a black box in his hands.

“Here’s that laptop… if you want…” he said as he pushed the box toward Cielan.

“You sure?” Cielan asked as he took the box.

Lairo wiped his hand over the top of the box, leaving a large streak where the dust once was. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” he said with a chuckle. 

Cielan smiled. “Well, thank you. I really appreciate it.” ‘Appreciate’ was underselling it a bit. Or a lot. This amount of generosity would probably make him uncomfortable if it weren’t coming from someone he was head over heels about.

“Hey, let me see ya out." Lairo said. The two walked out of the bedroom, through the spartan halls of the home, and to the front door. Cielan slid his feet into his shoes and opened up the door.

"Well, see ya tomorrow, Lairo," he said as he gave the cardinal one last smile before walking out. 

“Bye!”

Once the door clicked behind him, he took a very deep breath. Hormones did laps around his body, making his heart race. He took little stock of his surroundings as he walked home. All he could think about was Lairo. His inviting voice. His charming face. His radiant colours. His generosity and friendliness. Everything about him just...

"Hey, where you going?" 

Cielan swung around to see Taavai sitting on the front step of Mrs. Breling’s home. He had managed to walk right past.

"Oh, uh," Cielan said, and left it at that as he spun around and walked briskly toward the house.

"Oh, uh, what?" Taavai said as the bird walked past.

"Nothing!" Cielan snapped. 

Taavai recoiled a little. "Well, excuse me for asking! Sheesh!" she said, waving her hands in the air.

"Sorry," Cielan said. The clash of anxiety and desire had him on edge. He just could not stop thinking about his crush. He pushed open the door and walked into the living room, where Mrs. Breling was reading a book.

"I'm back," Cielan said.

"Ah, that's a good lad. Did you have fun?"

"I think I'm going to go back tomorrow."

"Wonderful! So glad you've made a friend." 

Cielan smiled. “He’s really nice. He gave me a computer he wasn’t using,” he said, showing her the box.

Mrs. Breling lowered her glasses. “Did he? Nev’s generosity must be rubbing off on him.”

“They seem like great people.”

“Wonderful people. Let me tell you about them some time… but not tonight. My boy, you look ready for bed.”

Cielan suddenly felt very heavy. She was right; he was exhausted. His legs were still stiff and sore, and spending the afternoon sitting on a bed with little movement didn’t help matters. But what really did him in were the emotions. Furniture was heavy, but feelings were crushing. Adjusting to his new paradigm was going to take time and energy.

“Yeah… yeah, I am. Good night, Mrs. Breling.”

“Sleep well, dear.”

Cielan hopped up the stairs to his room and closed the door behind him. He stripped down to his underwear, crawled under the covers and closed his eyes. Instead of darkness, he saw Lairo’s smiling face. He just couldn’t get him out of his mind. The way he seemed to glow when he was talking about something he was excited about. His small, slender figure that mirrored his own. And that voice… that voice…

Cielan’s heart started pounding and breathing became deeper. Desire coursed through him, and he reached down and wrapped his hand around his stiffening length. Images of himself curled up naked with Lairo danced through his mind. He imagined the little cardinal peeping as he stroked his chest, his stomach, his genitals. Precum leaked from his now fully erect length as he stroked faster. He imagined nuzzling their beaks together, taking in each other’s subtle scents before pulling the cardinal into a deep kiss. It made him shudder, and he felt a gentle pressure building in his groin.

His mind wandered to further intimacy. As he thrust into his hand, he imagined thrusting into Lairo, feeling his cock being squeezed by the cardinal’s tight hole. His hips began to move, and he fucked his hand as though he would fuck his boyfriend… wait, boyfriend? Yeah… yeah, that sounded really nice. And then he would… he would…

Cielan’s body went stiff as he threw his head back. Semen squirted from his penis with every twitch, creating strings along the bed. Every jerk sent shocks through his upper body and head. He wanted to groan, scream even, but he kept just enough of a clear head to stay quiet. His heart thundered in his chest as he lurched, the bursts of semen finally tapering to a dribble as they ran down the back of his hand. As the haze slowly cleared from his mind, he opened his eyes and saw the damage he dealt to his sheets.

“Holy…” he said. He tried to sit up, but a lightheaded rush sent him crashing back down. He had never had an orgasm like that in his life. Not even close. Is this what being in love does…? He shook his head. No, you’ve only known him for one day. You can’t be in love after one day, surely. 

Cielan sighed. His penis had gone soft in his grasp and the semen was starting to dry into the feathers on his hand. He grabbed a tissue from the desk and wiped his wrist off best he could, but there was no saving the sheets. After cleaning his penis off and replacing the linens, he crawled back under the blankets and closed his eyes, feeling even more tired than before. 

He was alone now, but for once, he didn't feel lonely. For the first time in a long time, he looked forward to waking up in the morning. The cardinal probably just wanted a gaming buddy, he knew. But he also knew that there was a chance that maybe, just maybe, the feelings would be mutual. A bird could dream. And dream he did as the night claimed him.