#owlbit

The afternoon sun shone lazily on the Hundred Acre Wood. Rabbit ordinarily would’ve been outside tending to his garden in the heat of that sun, but even he had to take a break sometimes. While he could’ve been just as comfortable at home, he didn’t feel like just lounging about the house. The only person he could think of that would provide a somewhat peaceful evening was Owl. It was a no-brainer. He sometimes stopped by his house for tea anyhow, and spacing out while sipping tea and pretending to listen to some convoluted story actually sounded pretty fantastic just about now.

Rabbit was sat in his living room across from Owl with a saucer and a teacup filled with perfectly brewed tea in his hand. He’d already added his sugar, he was just listening to Owl go on about something before he took a sip. The warm, dark flavor of the black tea relaxed him… but he felt like he wanted just a little more something to flavor the drink.

“Owl, I don’t mean to bother but could you bring out some honey? I’d love some for my tea.” Rabbit said.

Owl smiled and halted his story. “Oh, of course! I’ll resume my tale once I’m back.”

Owl flew out of the living room and swooped into the kitchen to retrieve the honey. A few seconds later Rabbit heard a thundering crash and jumped to his feet to investigate before a very excited looking Owl brought back an in-tact honey jar, but more surprisingly, an accordion.

“Owl, what IS that?” Rabbit asked, pointing at the unknown instrument.

“This, my dear friend, is called an ‘accordion’” Owl said. “It’s a wonderful instrument, my relative in Italy gave it to me years ago.”

“Do you play?” Rabbit asked pointedly.

“But of course! Here,” Owl began, setting the jar of honey down for Rabbit. “enjoy your tea and the music.”

Rabbit felt excitement bubble up in his belly. He usually knew better than to get his hopes up too high about things like this with his friends, but there just seemed to be something so genuine about the way Owl spoke about the instrument. Besides, Rabbit hadn’t even known what it was called before Owl told him.

“This song I learned from my Great Great Granduncle, he used to play it while taking a leisurely boat ride.” Owl said.

Owl’s feathery hands moved across the keys on the instrument as he pushed it in and pulled in a slow, jaunty song. The unique sound that the instrument produced had Rabbit totally transfixed… as well as how oddly suave Owl looked playing it.

His hands were moving with such grace and the way his body swayed to the beat of the song just took his breath away. His eyes were moving with Owl as he swayed across the room, coming closer to Rabbit before dancing away while continuing the slow, romantic melody that Rabbit was enchanted by. When the song ended Owl bowed while Rabbit clapped fervently.

“Stupendous! Absolutely marvelous! I had no idea you were such a musician!” Rabbit said.

“But of course I am! I wasn’t only gifted with a beautiful singing voice, I’m an owl of many talents you know!” Owl said proudly.

Ordinarily Rabbit would’ve scoffed at the notion but the way Owl spoke… especially after his performance… Rabbit actually felt a sort of reverence for Owl for the first time.

“I know this might be sudden but… would you be able to teach me a few notes?” Rabbit asked.

Owl nodded enthusiastically. “Of course of course! I’d be happy to aide in someone’s quest for knowledge!!”

Owl handed Rabbit the surprisingly heavy accordion and stood behind him. Rabbit’s cheeks flushed as he felt the bird’s soft, warm hands covering his as his fingers touched the keys. Owl even helped push and pull the accordion at first, guiding Rabbit’s arms by pushing them and pulling them with his hands. Rabbit could feel the soft as a cloud feathers of Owl's crest pressing against the back of his head which distracted him greatly as he tried to concentrate on what was happening. Eventually though, Rabbit got the hang of how the instrument operated. Owl danced around the room as he had before, but this time he guided Rabbit along with him, swaying along with him as Rabbit practiced the intro to the song Owl had just played for him.

After a while the sun began to set and Rabbit reluctantly put a stop to their music lesson.

“It really is no trouble if you stay for dinner, you know.” Owl said insistently.

“I appreciate it really, but I must get back and get things ready for tomorrow. You know how it goes, the work is never done around the garden!” Rabbit said.

Owl opened the door and saw Rabbit out. Rabbit turned to Owl with a smile.

“Goodnight, Owl.”

Owl leaned forward and quickly gave a small love peck to Rabbit’s cheek. “Goodnight, Rabbit.”

The light of the moon and stars were muted under a thick blanket of fluffy clouds. The moon shone as bright as it could, but against the cloud cover only a pale sphere could be seen. Ordinarily, Rabbit would’ve been fast asleep at this hour. His work started at the crack of dawn so he was an early to bed early to rise type. However his sleep had been plagued these past few weeks. The visit with Owl had stirred up feelings within him that he didn’t know how to handle. Suddenly, he looked at Owl in a light that he never had before. His silly prattling and ramblings carried some weight to them. The knickknacks and junk that he kept were suddenly objects of interest to him and his wings that he never thought twice about suddenly looked majestic and powerful.

When Owl had suggested Rabbit go along with him to stargaze that night, Rabbit had actually laughed at him. When he saw Owl’s puzzled expression at his outburst, Rabbit asked him to clarify how they were to see any stars when the cloud coverage had persisted all day and would likely persist well into the night. That was when Owl told him that he’d be able to see the stars just fine above the clouds. Any other day Rabbit would have immediately told Owl to dream on and storm away but before he could even think about it Rabbit heard himself say “Yes” to the insane proposal.

Now Rabbit was standing at the base of the tree that Owl lived in, scared out of his wits to knock on the door. He paced in circles around the tree trying to come up with ways to push himself to just climb the ladder already or go home and think of some lame excuse to tell Owl when he saw him next. Heights were one thing, but heights with someone he was having these confusing feelings for was a whole other story. Rabbit’s fur was standing on end, his ears were pinned firmly down against his back as he paced and just as he made his mind up to just go home, he heard a door open.

“Rabbit! I’m so very glad you came!” Owl said cheerfully.

Rabbit froze in place and slowly turned to face Owl. “O-Of course I did!”

Owl leapt from his porch and floated down towards Rabbit. Wrapped around his neck was a soft, fuzzy blue scarf and clutched in his hands was a red scarf. He handed the scarf to Rabbit, smiling warmly.

“It gets cold up there. This will help keep us warm.” Owl said.

Rabbit nodded and took the scarf from his wings, wrapping it around his neck. The night was already a bit chilly, so the warmth the scarf provided was welcome but it was nothing compared to the warmth blossoming in his chest now that Owl was near him.

“Why thank you, Owl. That’s very thoughtful.” Rabbit said.

A small period of silence grew between the two of them as Rabbit’s eyes darted every which way. He didn’t want to be the one to initiate the flight and he wondered if Owl might have sensed his apprehension.

“Well, are you ready?” Owl asked.

“O-Of course I am! Don’t I look ready to fly?” Rabbit said shakily.

“To be frank, you look scared out of your wits.” Owl said with a chuckle. “But rest assured, Rabbit. I won’t let anything ill befall you.”

Every nerve in Rabbit’s body screamed for him to just stay on the ground but he felt his head nod slowly and his lips curl into a nervous smile. “Alright then, Owl. I trust you.”

Rabbit circled behind Owl and it only then hit him how much taller the owl was. His head barely came up to his shoulders, and when he hooked his arms around Owl’s large frame, his hands settled on the soft, downy feathers of his crest. Owl spread his wings wide and in the moonlight, Rabbit gazed upon the impressive wingspan of glittering feathers. With a mighty flap of his wings, Owl kicked off the ground and sent the pair soaring into the night sky. Rabbit’s grip on Owl tightened ten fold once they were in the air and screwed his eyes shut.

“It’s a wonderful night out, isn’t it?” Owl shouted as they continued to soar towards the clouds. When he didn’t get a response, he asked again. “Rabbit? Are you alright?”

“F-Fine! Yes totally fine…” Rabbit finally managed to open his eyes and gasped at the sight before him.

Above the cloud line, the moon and the stars shone without inhibition. Silver rays of moonlight and twinkling stars aplenty dotted the night sky. Owl began to descend much to Rabbit’s horror, but once he landed softly on a fluffy cloud, Rabbit gently let go of Owl and stood on the cloud himself.

Rabbit had never been so close to the stars before. The faint hints of light that he could see on the ground level were nothing compared to the dazzling assortment of twinklings lights he saw all around him, totally uninhibited. Owl took a seat right on the cloud they were standing on and Rabbit cautiously took a seat next to him.

“Didn’t I tell you we’d be able to see the stars just fine?” Owl said with a grin.

“You weren’t exaggerating at all… I’ve never seen the stars so clearly before.” Rabbit said while soaking in the sight.

“You see that constellation over there?” Owl asked, pointing to one even Rabbit could recognize, the big dipper. “My Uncle first showed me that constellation when I was a chick. Made my mother furious that he would’ve taken me so high when I was so young, but I’m so very glad he did. It stirred a fascination in me with the stars and the world at large.”

“Owl, that’s beautiful. Are there any constellations your family claims to have discovered? I’m sure there’s at least a few.” Rabbit said with a smirk.

Owl wrapped a wing around Rabbit’s shoulders. Rabbit hadn’t noticed how gusty the winds were and how chilly he truly felt until he was suddenly pressed against soft, warm downy feathers as Owl used his free wing to point out more of the stars. His cheeks felt like they might singe his fur right off if they got any warmer.

“Well of course they have! Why just over there my Great Aunt…” Owl launched into another one of his rambling spells but Rabbit listened intently to every word that came out of his beak.

Owl told tall tales of his family’s history of mapping the stars and the constellations that they named. He even claimed one was named after himself, but they couldn’t see it at this time of year. As the night went on, Rabbit rested against Owl’s chest as he continued to point out constellations and told their stories. Eventually though, they both grew tired as the night went on and Rabbit had to once again cling for dear life to Owl’s back to get back to solid ground. Rabbit watched as Owl carried them down through the thick layer of clouds and slowly descended back to his house. This time around, he was more calm despite his shaky legs as he felt his feet plant onto the ground.

Owl snickered at Rabbit’s shaky steps backwards and closed the distance between them to wrap both of his wings firmly around him and pull him in for a hug. Rabbit leaned into him, sighing in relief as the familiar sensations calmed him.

“I had a fantastic time tonight, Rabbit. If you ever want to go up again, let me know.” Owl said gently before pulling away.

Rabbit nodded. “Of course, I would love to go up again sometime very soon.”