tylluan
quiet owl.
code by valen t.
It was bitterly cold.
Ori's boots sank into the snow as he trudged towards the rehabilitation dome, eyes narrowed against the snow. It lashed at his face, even as he tried to bury his head further into his hood. It was a relief when his gloved hand finally hit the door, groaning as he pushed the door open and entered. It wasn't much warmer in here, but at least he could lower his hood. He brushed himself down once, then ducked through the door into the main area. The dome was as large as it could realistically be; a wide, clear expanse with tall pines and artificial lighting to mimic daytime when necessary. It seemed to be necessary now - perhaps due to the thick cover of snow over the top of the dome. Ori glanced upwards, flicking his gaze over the birds in the air. None of them were who he was searching for. He shook his head and moved on, entering the sparse woodland instead.
"There you are," he breathed. The huddled-up mass of pristine white and stark black feathers shifted for a moment, before the boy's head lifted. Blood speckled his cheek, but it wasn't his own. His lips parted for a moment, showing the brief glimpse of those unsettling large and sharp canines, and then he stood.
Jan wasn't an impressive man. He was very small in comparison to Ori's bulk; a slim bird with a light build. Especially small in comparison to his unnaturally large wings - bigger than even the largest of snowy owls that Ori had encountered. It made sense, though. He was an experiment, shipped in a couple of years ago from the Organisation. His rehabilitation was slow-going but strong, and though he wasn't bonded to Ori, he was responsive enough and didn't bolt when allowed to hunt freely instead of being restricted to the dome. He was coming on in leaps and bounds, and Ori wanted to test that. For now, though, he could see the cautious curiosity in Jan's pale yellow eyes, the subtle hostility in his posture. Despite the dangers, he reached out and set his hand on the younger man's dark black hair, smiled at him as warmly as he could.
"What is it?" Jan asked eventually, reaching up to brush Ori's hand away from him. He stretched out his wings for a brief second, then settled them as comfortable as he could. His primaries shuffled awkwardly in the snow as he rose to his tiptoes - a failed attempt at finding a comfortable position with closed wings. After a moment, he shook his head and hopped up into a tree. His talons dug into the branch below him as he crouched, now able to close his wings. Ori watched this as it unfolded, careful to keep the amusement from being too apparent. He'd learned the hard way that Jan was self-conscious about the awkward build he held - while he was incredible to watch in the air, he was incredibly awkward to watch when he was on the land.
"We have a briefing," he replied, calm as ever. "It would do you some good to go on a mission."
The word mission made Jan's nose wrinkle. He glanced away as he considered, head tilted as if listening to something far away - something Ori could never hope to hear. Those deadly talons shifted, the branch groaned ominously as his grip tightened. It would be easy for the snowy owl to say no - wise, even. Ori wasn't sure what had happened to him in the Organisation, but it had likely been something of a traumatic experience. But this was his purpose and Jan was in his prime, a restless owl and a dangerous one. Already, Ori could imagine what those powerful talons could do to a monster's hide, could see how Jan's way of hunting could be a great asset. But not if he didn't want it. All he had to say was no, and Ori would leave him be. At some point, they'd likely release him back into the wild on a permanent basis. Jan didn't seem to want that, though. There was something else in his eyes now - a childlike curiosity, like he was trying to imagine what it would be like to hunt the prey he was all but bred to hunt.
After a painful moment, Jan hopped down from the tree and shrugged, beginning to walk ahead. He'd spread his wings out a little to hover above the ground - it didn't seem like an effective way to rest his wings, but he seemed comfortable enough. Ori smiled quietly as he turned to follow.
Outside, the snow didn't seem to bother Jan like it bothered Ori. Cheater, Ori thought as he saw Jan's third eyelid flick down - the ideal protection. He stepped back as Jan flapped his wings experimentally, then took off with a powerful push of his legs. Small, but powerful. He was quick even in the snow, apparently unbothered by the conditions.
It didn't take long for them to reach Ori's truck. The back of it was perfectly kitted out for a bird to rest in if they couldn't get to their travelling crate, or if they needed a temporary stop. By the time Ori himself had reached it, Jan was already turning around in circles as he tried to figure out a comfortable position. He must've found some kind of comfortable position, for he was a gently rising and falling mass of white and black within minutes of Ori starting the car and driving.
The Tundra Falconry headquarters was a long drive. Avoiding cities and towns, it took nearly two hours to reach. Jan seemed to stay asleep for the entire time - or maybe he was just resting, tired after hunting and feeding. He didn't get up when Ori got out of the truck and slammed the door, and stayed still until his name was called. Feathers ruffled, blinking awkwardly as he tried to flick up his third eyelid in a sleep-hazed state. He hopped out of the truck and followed Ori through the winding corridors - the ceilings high enough to accomodate for most birds, and the doorways wide enough that they didn't often need to fold their wings tightly to pass through. Indoor environments could be uncomfortable to a lot of the larger birds, Ori knew - but they made it as comfortable as possible, and that's what mattered.
In the meeting room sat Dimitri Volkov. A softspoken man partnered with an even more softspoken ptarmigan named Yuki. Though the bird herself didn't raise her head to acknowledge them, her wings ruffled as if she sensed their disturbance. She was retired, not in teaching - nothing more than a secretary nowadays, which was...strange for a bird. Dimitri raised an eyebrow at Jan's wild appearance, then kept it raised at Ori.
"I thought you would've chosen the eagle. Why the owl?" his tone was strange. Ori dismissed it, along with the question.
"You have a mission for us. What is it?" he asked, sitting himself down on one of the seats. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jan discover the perches kept in here exactly for the purpose of letting the birds rest, too.
Dimitri shuffled his papers, glancing through them slowly. He did this on purpose. If he was as slow and as meaningful as possible, maybe he'd be respected. Ori didn't think he'd appreciate being told that this didn't seem respectable, but instead wasted precious time that they needed to chase down their prey. It annoyed Ori more than he would've liked to admit, but he smiled nonetheless. Even as Jan murmured something behind him, he smiled. There was nothing else to do about it - telling Dimitri to hurry up would only make the process more painful for everyone involved. This was the easiest way to do it, he supposed.
"You are to go to these exact coordinates," he said after a long moment. Dimitri's gaze did not lift even as he spoke. "There, you'll meet the mission handler, and you'll go from there. From what little they disclosed, you are to meet with another falconer and their bird, and you have to hunt something large that can traverse various biomes. It should take you four days to reach this location. Your bird's crate and your long-distance truck will be prepared for you, and you'll be given all the supplies you need for a long mission."
"Yes, sir," Ori lowered his gaze to look at the piece of paper Dimitri had pushed over.
Though no more words were spoken, Ori knew he was being dismissed. He dipped his head respectfully to Yuki, then stood and turned on his heel, gesturing for Jan to follow. The bird stared at him quietly, fingers running over his feathers in a quiet, anxious motion. It wasn't until Ori was nearly out of the door that he moved, hopping across the floor carefully as he followed.
As had been promised, Ori's truck and the habitat crate for Jan were prepared quickly. He was to move out immediately. He watched as Jan cautiously entered the habitat, exploring the cold crate with some curiosity. It wasn't much - just something to keep Jan in a more comfortable and larger place while they travelled long distances that he couldn't fly over - but it was enough. Seemingly content with the living arrangements, he was quick to find somewhere to settle down. An opening in the roof of the crate could provide him easy escape whenever he wanted.
Ori, on the other hand, would have to drive the whole setup. He sighed as he got behind the wheel and drummed his fingers as he hunted for a radio station he didn't hate, and then got to work.
Four days had been a good estimate. He was there in exactly that.
With no more snow to worry about as the rest of the world was in the midst of Summer, Ori had switched to his desert gear out of convenience. It was the first time he'd ever seen Jan in Summer gear too. He'd expected the owl to be frustrated or annoyed by the sudden heat, but it had managed to pull him out of his habitat crate and onto the perch on the truck, playing with the radio dial until he found some sort of obscure heavy metal station that he enjoyed. He'd never seen a cold-weather bird enjoy the heat of the sun as much as Jan did, but he supposed there were always exceptions to certain rules.
"Alright," Ori said as he turned off the truck, watching as Jan awkwardly hopped from his perch to the perch outside the office. It wobbled ominously, even under his light weight. "We're going to find out who we're working with. Are you excited?"
If looks could kill, Jan's would have. An unamused frown crossed his face as he scratched his nose, head tilting upwards as if to catch the sun's rays. He was more like a cat than a bird in this moment. Those thoughts were best kept to himself. Ori laughed as he entered the building.
Mission Control was a much friendlier building than the Tundra office. It was a smaller variant of the rehabilitation domes - wide open spaces for birds to work in, and a pleasant aroma. It was warm but not too hot, breezy but not too much. He walked towards the tall woman who stood near a koi pond, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched him approach. Her wings were much larger than Jan's - she was a wandering albatross, and a powerful one at that. But her cold expression melted into something warmer as she realised it was Ori and a rehabilitated bird.
"Old friend," said Anna, her hand reaching out to clasp Ori's arm. "It's lovely to see you again. And with a new bird, too. Who is this?"
Jan did not look at her - his pupils were narrowed as he spotted something, and he took off within seconds. Prey, no doubt. He wasn't surprised that this dome was as well-stocked with prey for the birds to hunt during their lunch hours. It was probably a little unsettling for the humans who worked here, but that was a matter that had likely already been settled. Jan returned as quickly as he had left, visibly more awake, and less restless, too.
"This is Jan. He's one of the rehabilitations from the Tundra. He's...what, twenty five? He's just hit his prime years." he didn't miss his own warmth when speaking about Jan, and neither did Anna. Her smile deepened considerably.
Reunions were all well and good, but Ori was unfortunate enough to be here on business. He took a step back and settled his smile into something more serious. He couldn't tell if the other falconer was here or not - would they have gone to let their bird feed first? Or maybe he was the first one here, and it was just a matter of waiting to see who he was paired with. It wasn't often that the Tundra units were sent outside of their home base, but...then again, it wasn't particularly common for falconers from different biomes to work together full stop. It was an exciting opportunity, and one he was interested in fulfilling to the best of his abilities.
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