Ughhh, why do I feel weird, as I'm unsure where I was, trying to open my eyes, I find it's dark, pulling it free, and looking around. The last thing I really remember was going to sleep in a tree after an exhausting flight on a tree branch. But now it feels more like the ground. Then, some odd dream of acting like a wild eagle. I try to open my eyes, but it’s dark. My heart races until I realize my head is tucked under my wing. I pull it free and look around, not recognizing where I was, but I see Shiners in a tree and Charlie next to me, making breakfast at a small campfire.

  I give my head a shake, trying to collect my thoughts. The dream felt distant, but some parts I remember, flying, hunting. My stomach lurches at one memory I refuse to think about. I call out, finally, "What happened? The last I remember was going to sleep after fleeing from you guys in a tree. How am I here?" The silly part of me tries to imagine Charlie climbing up the tree to grab me, then carrying me down without waking me up.

  Charlie gives a small, tentative smile, looking cautious as he sits down. "Hey, you’re awake. Everything okay? You there?" he asks, almost as if he’s afraid I’ll bite him. Which is confusing, as I’d never bite him, well, not without a good reason, like waking me up with a poke again.

  I tilt my head at him in confusion. "Of course I’m there… well, here. What else would I be?" The dream pokes at my mind, wanting attention. Looking around while running my tongue along the inside of my beak, I find a weird but comforting taste there. "Is there anything to eat? I feel like I haven’t eaten in a few days."

  Shiners pokes his head up and laughs. "Ohh, so bird brain is back with us?" he asks, leaving me once again confused. I glance between the two of them, unsure what they are talking about. A small bit of dread starts to seep into my still half-awake brain.

  Charlie nods to Shiners. "It looks like it, though I think he’s now more confused than he was yesterday," he says. Charlie adds, "What do you remember about yesterday?" He pulls something from the cooler, which looks like a rabbit’s leg, badly butchered but still fresh, a little red at the edge. I’m curious where they got it from.

  I lick the inside of my beak as I claw at the ground a little. He tosses it to me, making me eye him as I try to figure out how to eat it. I don’t exactly have a knife or fork on me, and it looks too big to swallow. I try to roll my eyes, but instead give my head a wiggle. Charlie gives me a quick shake of his head.

  Charlie quickly shakes his head, holding his hands up as the fire sparkles a little in his eyes. "I tried that yesterday, nearly lost a finger," he says as he watches my reaction. Which just gets me even more annoyed, as something was going on.

  Shiners nods slowly, as if afraid to say the wrong thing. "You were not in the best of moods yesterday. Just glad you thought we were friends." He gives a small wing shrug. "Do you remember anything?"

  I try to frown, but it only makes that weird extra eyelid, or whatever it is, move in front of my eyes. I give them both a questioning look, remembering something they had asked earlier. I eye the leg. Part of me says carefully tear off and chew, but the other, more concerning side, tells me to just swallow it whole. I wasn’t sure I could do that. Wouldn’t it get stuck? And how do you do the Heimlich on an eagle? Though the scent is delectable, as I stare at it.

  Charlie rubs the back of his head, looking nervous. “Not sure how to tell you this, but that was two days ago, today’s the thirteenth. You spent yesterday not really yourself,” he explains, his expression tightening with concern.

  Shiners nods. “When we found you, you were acting more like an eagle mid-meal,” he says. “Took us most of the morning to find you, thankfully you didn’t fly very far.” He looks nervous, too, like they’re both avoiding something.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  I stare at the two of them, expecting them to make a joke. I mean, didn’t I just? There was this weird dream, and that’s when it hit me. Was that really a dream? Flying around, hunting, and getting into a fight with a big eagle. I gulp. not wanting to finish, suddenly feel sick. Eyeing the rabbit, I’m hungry, but it brings up an unsettling memory.

  Charlie looks at me after taking a deep breath, and I can tell I might not like what he says, “We found you a little after sunrise. It took a bit, but when we found you, well, you were eating at the time. We were relieved, and then concerned when you didn’t seem to recognize us or respond.”

  Shiners nods, “I tried talking to you, but it was more like static. The connection was there, but no response on the other end. You did, after a short bit, react friendly to us.”

  I gulp, staring between the two of them, unsure how to react. My memory is a bit hazy.

  Charlie gulps. "Well… when we found you, you were eating." He says, and I can tell he refuses to bring up what I was eating, and given what I remember, it's probably a good thing. He seems to think before making a small sigh. "I'm sorry we failed you. We barely had time to realize how panicked you were until you flew off, and by the time we tried to find you, you were already gone."

  Shiners nods. "I tried to follow you a short distance, but in the darkness I couldn't see anything."

  I look at the ground, feeling sad.

  Charlie shakes his head, "I don't think you understood your dad. He wasn't rejecting you, he was rejecting that you were an eagle. I probably would too if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes and had Shiners here. For a parent, it must be extra hard. Your mom seemed ready to believe, your dad seemed unsure what to think, they both watched the sky for an hour before they left."

  He winces at my mention of the owl. "Yeah, living out here, there’ve been a few times I thought some woman was being murdered. I can only imagine what they sound like to a bird, even a big one."

  Shiners nods. "I can tell your parents love you, even if they don’t believe you’re an eagle right now. Trust me," he says wistfully. "Parents who hate you wouldn’t have waited for you to return." There’s something about what he says that makes me wonder, and I want to ask, but this isn’t the time.

  I think back to that moment and realize it might not have been as bad as I thought. I pause, the thought sinking in. I ask, not complaining, but suddenly worried for him.

  Charlie just shrugs. "Hey, you’re my friend. I wasn’t sure if we’d see you again, or what condition you’d be in, but no way I was abandoning you in your moment of need. Though it wasn’t easy, next time, leave a note if you’re going to run away," he half-jokes. I can hear the tiredness in his voice and see it in the way he holds himself.

  Shiners nods as he looks over at the smoke, "I did a lot of the wingwork, or as you guys would say, legwork, flying about to find you. You only flew about two kilometers away, so it wasn’t too hard. Not many eagles like you around, especially this time of year."

  I give a nod of my head, thinking as I shift on my talons a little nervously, but wanting to know more.

  I was hoping I could figure out some of what I was missing. Some of what I saw scared me, others felt weird and natural. Maybe somewhere in there, I can figure out what I really am.

  Charlie gives a nod at this, "Let's take turns, it will be easier once we catch up to you, and then we can explain better what happened. I have a feeling there will be some things you forgot, or have the wrong idea of."

  Shiners laughs, "Yeah, I really want to hear your version of fighting an eagle," he says mysteriously, as that was one of the things I had a vivid memory of.

  Taking a break, centering my thoughts, and closing my eyes, listening to the fire, unsure if I really want to know what happened. But I definitely had to, "The first thing I remember was waking." I'm a little less confident than I would like to think.