Fowl Language || Nate and Kaden
TIMING: Current LOCATION: Nateās Apartment PARTIES: @deadicated-nate and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: Nateās birb gotta go :/
After a long few days of trying to get some fresh air, Nate was thrilled to be spending his day off cleaning up around the house and trying to teach Alea some new words. She was an incredibly fast learner, always impressing Nate with how quickly she added new words to her vocabulary. On one of his trips out of the house, Nate had gotten her a whole new gang of toys to reward her and she seemed in good spirits. For the first time in weeks, Nate felt at peace. He opened the blinds, let some sunlight in and brought his feathered friend out into the living room so they could enjoy the golden June sunset. His peace was cut abruptly short at the sound of a loud rap on his door, a sound so out of place that it caused him to jump a good foot and a half in the air. āSomeoneās at the door! Someoneās at the door! Uninvited!ā Nate cooed at Alea, attempting to calm her before heading over to see who was interrupting him. It wasnāt like Nate got too many visitors. He pulled open the door slowly, peeking around the edge to see who was standing on the other side, his mouth dropping. āKaden? Problem, officer?ā
There was a lot of shit going wrong in Kadenās life. So much shit. But he could make one thing right. Even if the person in question didnāt want his fucking help, they were going to get it. Theyād thank him later. Alright, no, they probably wouldnāt but he could sleep a slight bit better at night. Not that the aravo in Nateās apartment was really keeping him awake but it was the fucking principle of the matter. Heād gone to the āpet shopā on Amity and sure enough, all monsters, no fuccking legitimate permits to speak of. Kaden was having trouble getting the place completely shut down, but he did at least get the paperwork of the āpetsā sold to customers to follow up on. Nate was one of them. Easy enough to get his address and head over there. āI have a warrant for your unlicensed bird,ā he said, biting back his smile from being too wide. He was off to a cordial start, really. āOr you can just let me in and we can cut the crap.ā
Nate shrunk back, closing the door slightly in front of him. He had the right permits. The shop gave them to him! God, was this dude just a huge dick for no reason?? Nate hadnāt done anything to make him hate him or his poor bird! Not to mention how much good Alea had done him, keeping him company and erasing the sinking loneliness of the home heād once built for him and his love. āWhy?ā His eyes were imploring. What did it matter if Alea was an exotic pet? Even if she was illegal, what was it to this guy? What Regan could see in the guy, Nate would never know. Nate pulled himself up, trying to look intimidating and failing. āYou canāt.ā
Kaden sighed. It was going to be the difficult way, wasn't it? He pulled out the papers and showed the warrant. āI can. Thatās how warrants work. Please donāt make this worse.ā He had every confidence this was only going to get worse. āI really donāt want to force my way in if I can avoid it. The pet shop you got him from? Illegal business. Sorry, but I need the bird.ā The real question was if he was going to be forced to kill it right away or if he could actually cage the thing first. Guess heād see. He put his hand against the door to make sure it didnāt shut in his face. No pressure on it. Yet. āYou been having any issues with your voice?ā
Nateās brows furrowed. Maybe if the guy knew how important Alea was to him, that she wasnāt just some bird, some pet that could be replaced. She was more than family, she was his only true friend. Nate had told her so many things that haunted him, fears he hadnāt told Morgan or even Nell when he was drugged. But he didnāt go against the law. Head falling down, Nate opened the door, allowing the man to enter. But he couldnāt give up without a fight. āJust- leave her,ā he croaked. Cocking his head, he furrowed his brows again. āMy voice?ā Sure, sometimes it was hard to choke out the words he wanted, but itās not like he had strep or anything. He was just nervous. A lot. And allergies. āNo...why?ā
Kaden stepped inside and searched for the bird. With the squawks and rustles of feathers, it wasnāt hard to find. He kept his eyes fixed ahead, not wanting to deal with whatever stupid attachment the guy had to the monster in question. It was never fun dealing with beasts that looked like pets, tricked humans into thinking they were friendly. Didnāt change what he had to do. Who knew how many voices this had. āNothing? Never felt a little hoarse around your bird?ā His eyes narrowed at the animal. āGo away! Uninvited!ā it squealed out. Not sure why he figured it wouldn't put up a fight. āJust asking because they have uh...ā Powers. They had powers. āWell they typically cause most people to have, uh, allergies. You know. All that.ā
Nate hovered behind Kaden as he made his way deeper into the house, his eyes fixed on the back of the manās head. He wondered if it made him feel good to take peopleās pets away, members of their family. Just because of some darned paperwork. He tried to give Alea a consoling look, but her feathers were rustled and she was dancing side to side on her perch, clearly not a fan of their visitor either. āNo.ā He said firmly, crossing his arms. āW-what difference? Hm?ā He coughed into his elbow. Summer blooms messing with his lungs. āWhat difference does that make?ā He moved to try to stand between the animal control officer and his new best friend, his face imploring. āShe didnāt do anything wrong.ā āNothing wrong! Nothing wrong!ā Alea echoed.
Kadenās eyes narrowed as he looked at the guy, coughing and sputtering a little. It wasnāt a certainty that the bird was stealing his voice, maybe it was just allergies, but that wasnāt a chance he was going to take. He reached out to the creature, but before he could do much of anything, Nate was standing in front of him. He couldnāt help but huff and roll his eyes. The voice that came out of the bird sounded almost human. Right. Nothing wrong. āThat doesnāt mean you can keep her. Iām sorry. You got pulled into a scam. Iām just trying to uphold the law.ā He tried to keep his tone sincere. And he did mean it. Losing a pet, even if it was a monster, it sucked. And a replacement wasnāt the same. Not when it came to animals. āPlease step aside,ā he pleaded. Without waiting, the bird cawe, āNothing wrong!ā and leapt from her perch and flew beak first at Kaden, wings sprawled and talons out.
Nate didnāt want to interfere with the law, but heād already lost so much in this life, couldnāt he have just one thing that was good? One thing that was his? He was about to throw his arms out in protection when Alea rocketed into the air, her claws looking for purchase in Kadenās skin. āAlea! No! Bad girl!ā The bird shrieked and inhuman noise, feathers flying about the room. āBad! Bad! Bad man!ā She shrieked, attacking the officer with a fury Nate had never seen before. He flung himself across the room, trying without success to grab onto her leg. āWhatās- Alea! Whatās gotten into you!!ā
The talons dug into his arm as Kaden tried to shield his face from the attack. He tried to throw his arm away and shake the creature off, blood flying as he yanked it back. Aw, shit, another fucking scar. Or five. Something like that. He took the cage in his other and and whipped it around to try and hit the bird as it squealed in his face. āNothing wrong, huh?ā Kaden yelled as he ducked to avoid another attack, this time with the beak aimed directly at his eyes. When he came there, he had no plans to pull out his knife on the fucking bird in front of Nate but that ship had fucking sailed and reached back for his weapon as blood dripped down to his palm, coating the handle. āThis.ā He swung out at the bird, blade trying to strike at flesh and not just feathers. āIs why.ā The feathers whacked him in the face. āThese fucking birds.ā Talons by his back, he ducked rolled. āAre illegal!ā
Nate flitted around the room, his hands on his head. What the heck was he supposed to do?? Alea had never acted like this before, but she clearly hated this guy. And who wouldnāt?! Before he knew it, Kaden had a flipping knife in his hand and was slashing wildly at his pet. āSTOP! Stop what are you doing!!ā Nate dropped to the floor as Alea dove over him, narrowly avoiding Kadenās blade, screaming all the while. āMonster! Monster!!ā Tears began to form in the manās eyes as he watched the scene unfold. Today was supposed to be a relaxing one! Not filled with some asshole trying to kill his pet!
The edge of the knife only struck a small bit of the birdās flesh but a squeal rang out through the apartment. āItās attacking me!ā Kaden yelled out. And the violence only encouraged the aravo to Ā strike out at him again. The beak grabbed at his ear and pulled. Kaden screamed out in pain and rammed his knife into the bird and it let go. Putain de merde, that hurt. āEither control your fucking mon-- BIRD or I have to put it down!ā He had no hope that Nate would calm this bird down, but in the off chance he could, heād like to avoid another puncture to his ear. āStop what are you doing!ā The birdās voice was a mirror of Nateās for that one moment. Shit. That wasnāt good. Kaden ducked again as the talons swooped towards his back. āStop your bird or Iāll have to! If you can even talk anymore!ā
Nateās heart was racing, grief and panic washing over him in waves. What the heck was he supposed to do?? He wasnāt cut out for this! He had no idea how to calm Alea down, sheād never acted like this before! āB-because- y-y-y-ou attacked her!!!ā Wildly, Nate threw himself around the room after the bird, attempting to grab her without getting himself slashed by her talons. Every swipe she took, however, seemed meticulously calculated so that she only ever nicked Kaden. In a desperate attempt to save his birdās life, he ran to the couch, grabbing the blanket so that it might be a shield of sorts. Heād seen people on Animal Planet do this kind of thing when they captured thrashing, dangerous animals. āStop what are you doing!ā Nate froze, blanket in hand, at the sound of his own voice. It was eerily similar to his own in a way he hadnāt heard before. āY-you canāt k-k-kill her!!ā He begged, his feet firmly planted in place.
Kaden was thrilled to see that Nate was frozen in place as the birdās talons dug into his back, ripping through Kadenās shirt and down into his flesh. He screamed in pain as he tried to duck and roll away, but the damage was already done. Kaden whipped around and yanked at one of the wings, hoping to get more than a fist full of feathers but such was his luck at the moment. Another duck from the claws and this time, when he reached out, he got a sizable piece of the wing, the limb this time. He pulled it down out of the air and dragged it towards him, knife raised and ready to thrust down into the heart. But before he could do that, Kaden caught a glimpse of the guyās face. Fucking hell. Bleeding goddamn hearts were getting to him. He couldn't do it in front of Nate, not looking like that. His grip pinched the wing, hard, keeping the writhing bird in place and he grabbed the blanket with his free hand to wrap the bird in. āLook, I donāt know how much you know. But this bird is stealing your voice. And it may have stolen others.ā The beast was scrambling and squawking under the blanket as Kaden tried to wrap it tightly closed. āThe only way to give them back is by killing it. Do you understand?ā He tried to keep calm and look Nate in the eye, but he knew there was no way this was sinking in. Not now.
Nate didnāt move when Kaden snatched the blanket out of his hand. His heart sunk as he watched the man tackle his bird, his closest friend and confidante for the past few months, preparing not only to take her away, but apparently to end her life all together. Even if she was illegal, Alea didnāt deserve that. Even if she was- stealing his voice? What was this, a Disney cartoon? Nate wasnāt some animated princess and Kaden certainly wasnāt his prince charming. Since when did prince charming murder your pet in front of you?? Maybe he was taking the metaphor too far⦠āN-no,ā he croaked, his voice still struggled against his body to be heard. But that was because he was distraught, not because his Alea was stealing his words! That would be insane! āThat- itās- not p-possible!ā
The bag flew a few feet in the air as the bird inside tried to fight its way out. Kaden would have to make a decision fast. There was no way he could keep the bird trapped in there for too long. Those claws and that beak would poke its way through soon enough. āDo you even hear yourself?ā he said, rolling his eyes. āYour voice is cracking every time you ta--ā Kaden didnāt get a chance to finish when a voice that sounded just like Nateās came from the bag. āHis voice is fine.ā Fucking aravos. Kaden exchanged a glance with the other man, raising a brow and hoping maybe, just maybe, his point was proven. āYou teach her all that? Or did she just learn that all on her own? Sheās not even repeating anything you said.ā Come. On. āI donāt have to do it here, just let me take her. Sheāll leave you once she has your voice and you'll never see her again and you wonāt be able to get it back.
Nate sank down onto his couch, his arms falling down in front of him. Crazier things had happened to the man than a bird who could steal voices. But he knew Alea, she was sweet and smart and the best pet he could have asked for...right? But the more she thrashed around in the makeshift bag, spitting out phrases in his own voice, only filled with a venom he could never muster. Hadnāt he lost enough? Somehow, he knew Kaden was right, but for the life of him he didnāt want to give the man the satisfaction. Nate felt his heart breaking with every squawk, but he nodded slowly, consenting for Kaden to do whatever he needed to do. It wasnāt like Nate was in the position to fight him, he knew that was a battle he couldnāt win. āJust...quick, please? F-for her?ā
If Kaden had a free hand to rub his face with, he would. This was exhausting. Why was a perfectly routine hunting call so fucking exhausting? He knew. Looking at Nate, he knew. Fuck, when did his heart start bleeding over bullshit like this? āIāll take her outside, alright? If you want.ā It felt like the least he could do. This wasnāt like being there when putting down a dog. This wasnāt the pet and the deep bond that this guy clearly wanted from an animal. Kaden hated how much he could relate. āLook, I know itās not the same. Itās not. But if you want, Iāll waive the adoption fee at the shelter for you. Any animal. Thereās plenty. Who donāt take voices.ā And by waived he meant heād just pay it for him. It still felt cheap and hollow. Animals couldnāt be replaced. Monsters should never be kept as pets and it was an unfortunate situation, but the sentiment remained.
Nate looked up at the man who was about to murder his pet through tear brimmed eyes. He didnāt like this man before, and today was doing no favors for their relationship, but he could see that Kaden at least was trying to make this easier. A little. It was a far cry from just not killing his pet, but Nate didnāt see how heād be able to change the animal control officerās mind. Especially after Alea proved rather...terrifyingly vicious. Tears began to spill over onto his cheeks and Nate dropped his head into his hands. āJ-just go. P-please.ā All he wanted was this nightmare of a day to be over so he could wallow in the loss of his pet alone.
Kaden gave a small nod and awkwardly tried to drag the blanket with the bird as well as the cage he brought with him. It would be great if it were quieter or more graceful but it was the best he could do. Once he was outside, he took the knife and dug it into the birdās heart. Or where he hoped it was. The struggle ended and Kaden watched as the chet fell and air released from the lungs. The sounds of a handful of voices floated up to the air and then dispersed in all directions. One small breath of voice floated to the door heād just left. Even if the man inside didnāt appreciate anything heād just done, Kaden knew something ended well at least. Not much, but it would have to be enough.













