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The photo Kole sent me was far from the only weird thing I had seen today. Kole would soon find out what was happening, but I didn't feel comfortable telling him. It's getting later into the year, and as the hunters know, it's getting time for the "rut." With Kole's changes the other day, I wonder if he is starting to get instincts relating to deer's breeding seasons.

I don't think that's the type of conversation I could have with Kole. It is almost like the birds and the bees talk but with a deer instead of another person. If I were told that the private photos I just sent to my friend were related to another species' sexual habits, I would be embarrassed beyond all belief.

"Everything ok?" Matthew asked me.

I closed my texting app and sat my phone down. "Yeah, just a friend having some issues after fresh changes."

"Oh, your deer friend?" Matthew asked. "What's going on with him?"

Kole's changes and my changes are not too far apart. Will I be affected by the seasons? Mammals usually have a heat at some point every year but do birds? Kole's much farther along, but I'm not all that far behind him.

"Just changes with his legs. Trying to get used to walking on them." I said to Matthew.

"I knew a chick a bit ago who was a horse hybrid," Nash said, leaning forward. "When her legs went, she almost immediately was on all fours. She said it was much easier than walking on her back legs."

"He had a scare with falling on all fours. But he was able to go back. It wasn't fun to watch by any means." I said to Nash.

Matthew shuffled a bit in his seat and looked almost like he was trying to scratch his back on the chair.

"Bug bite?" Nash asked Matthew.

"Nah, a bit worse than that," Matthew said, laughing, still trying to itch himself.

"Do ya have mites?" Barclay asked. "I don't feel like having any mites in my feathers, dude."

"I just have the urge to preen," Matthew said, sounding embarrassed.

"Then do it. No sense in you sitting and fidgeting for the next hour." Nash laughed

After a short delay, I saw Matthew's head turn, his beak running through his chest feathers. Moving quickly and in fast rapid movements. Once he finished the front, his head turned around and began running through his back feathers. I, for one, was surprised by his neck's range of motion. He continued to preen for a few minutes before bringing his head back to look at us.

"Sorry, it itches like hell if I don't," Matthew said.

"It's fine, Matt. It comes with the coat, bud," Barclay said.

"I didn't know your neck was so... mobile?" I said to Matthew.

He turned his head around again, then looked at me. "It's been like this for the past few days. I don't know if that triggered my preening, but it was nice when I didn't have to."

"Not everyone can skip it like Damien," Nash said. "But at least you don't have the neck he did."

Everyone was quiet after that. Nash, Jeremy, Matthew, Barclay, and I sat around trying to find something to talk about. Jeremy rapped his hand on the table again, making a loud thud.

We all looked over to see what he was going to try and say this time. He started to make a hand motion but quickly stopped and audibly sighed. He was slouching in the seat.

"Not wanting to try?" Matthew asked, to which Jeremy just shrugged.

"We'll figure out something for you, bud," Nash said, patting Jeremy on the back.

*DING*

My phone had a notification. Pulling the phone out, there was a message about an article on the local paper's website. I figure the website must be tracking my recent search history.

"Last 2 in existence! Could an extinct bird be brought back?" The article title read. I figured I knew what it was all about, and it would just be a story about Damien and his story. But as I read the article, it became clear they did not want to give too many details. Although it talked about the possibility of reviving the entire species, it treated the male woodpecker as if they had just found it. No mention of Damien or Anima. The article was topped with a black and white image of an Ivory-billed woodpecker. Who I could only assume was Damien.

"The pair is currently at the Mavis Conservation Society's care and are being studied in the group's Sanctuary." The article read.

I knew where Mavis was. As a kid, we had a school trip to the conservation center, and it was about an hour and a half from here. There was a public walkthrough of many bird enclosures ranging from injured to rescued to endangered. If Damien was there, I had a good chance he would be publicly visible. The only issue was how would I get there?

Kole's car was too uncomfortable to drive a far distance. There was no way I could go to the center with Nash or Matthew. But Jeremy couldn't speak up too well. This could allow him to keep a secret longer. But I would have to convince him to drive the whole distance. If I remember right, it's about an hour to an hour and a half each way.

The others were distracted by the current conversation of preening, so I started my plan to go to Pines and try to get some answers. Pines looked like an hour with current traffic if we left soon, and we would arrive just two hours before they closed the public side of the sanctuary. But what was around that could give me a reason to have Jeremy come?

Little white lies anyone can do. But this would be quite a story to try and tell. I could say it is a family emergency to him, but that does not seem right with recent events. I could lie about it having to do with my classes. In Pines, there used to be a satellite dish array on the outskirts. Since no one knows what I studied, I could maybe pull that one, but it's still a stretch.

"Jeremy," I said aloud. Jeremy turned his beaked face and stared at me. "Want to drive with me up to Pines?"

Jeremy cocked his head to the side, giving a confused look. He turned to look at the others for their reactions. Jeremy pointed at me, then himself, and held both hands out to motion for driving a car.

"Yeah, it's a drive, but I figured it would be fun for you to come," I said, keeping it cool.

Before Jeremy could say anything, Matthew said, "What's in Pines?"

"An errand I was going to run in my Mom's car. But she texts me saying it's down." I said.

"You were going to drive up this late?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to hang out here first. It turns out it was good to wait with it breaking down." I said, but even I was having trouble convincing myself of it.

I looked over to Jeremy. "So you wanna go?"

Jeremy sat still before shrugging and nodding, "yes."

"Awesome, I'll cover gas and dinner if you drive," I said, standing up, and Jeremy stood up and shrugged. We started walking towards the door, and I heard Matthew from behind us.

"Not sure where you are going but please, just text me if you need me to bail you out."

I gave a confident thumbs-up, and we were out of the door. We climbed into Jeremy's car, which was newer and fitted with proper seats like Nash's, and my tail did not feel compressed or squashed into the seat, unlike Kole's. Jeremy sat down in the driver's seat and started the car. He looked at me and then at the GPS screen on his car's screen.

"I'll call out turns for you. I don't have a real address for it." I said.

Jeremy just shrugged, put the car in drive, and off we were. Driving until we reached the freeway, there wasn't much attempt at talking. Once on the highway, I tried to talk, but it was a one-sided conversation. I tried to ask Jeremy more about himself, but he could only answer yes and no questions.

As we drove, we drove completely past Pine's downtown area, and we kept driving. Jeremy would make a sound at each exit to ensure I was aware we were skipping spots. We made it to the correct exit, and Jeremy pulled the car off the highway. I kept giving him directions once we were in the little town of Pines.

I closed the directions on the car's screen, and we continued using my directions off my phone. Jeremy was visually confused by this, and he gave me a side-eye and made a slow sound. I figured I would eventually have to tell him the actual plan, especially now that we were driving right through the town and approaching the reservoir.

"Jeremy, I gotta come clean with you, dude," I said. Jeremy looked over and showed some concern. "We are not running an errand. We are going to find Damien."

"Errh?" He attempted to talk.

"I didn't think I could go alone and knew you would be best." I tried to explain. "You would probably understand more."

Jeremy looked at me, then looked forward. I could tell he had a lot going on in his head. Maybe he thought I was crazy, and I practically kidnapped him by tricking him into coming. He turned his head and slowly shook it. I was expecting anger, but instead, he chuckled.

"I think he's being held at the Mavis sanctuary," I said, sounding like he was being held, prisoner. "I just want to talk to him."

Jeremy looked forward to the road, and his head was still thinking. Coming up the road, I saw a wooden sign hanging right before a gravel drive.

"Mavis Conservation Society: Rehab and Sanctuary"

We pulled in and parked with the eight or so other cars. The facility was a grouping of buildings around some concrete paths. In between buildings was a short wooden fence that would not be hard to climb if you wanted to try. Signs pointed down towards a small building with its front glass doors open.

"Visitor entrance:

Hours: Tues-Sat 10 AM-6 PM"

It was 4:27 PM, so we had plenty of time to look around. I started walking towards the doors when Jeremy grabbed my arm. He gave me a look with his head tilted to the left. Although his eyes were black, I could tell they were lined up with mine.

"Dude, you can stay out here if you want. I just want to go in and see if he really is here." I said to him.

He shook his head and closed his eyes. He audibly sighed and opened his eyes. He motioned his head to say, "let's leave."

"Jeremy, you can't tell me you don't want to know. We are already here, and we may as well take a peek since we will hear it from Rylie either way."

Jeremy again closed his eyes. This time, he lifted his head. Bringing it down, Jeremy made a chattering sound. He held up a hand and made a pinching motion with his fingers. I'd take that as something positive. Still not sure what it Truly means.

We walked up to the door covered in small printouts about upcoming events and general info on the birds. We entered the small room with a single woman at a fold-out table. To the left was a small collection of knickknacks and plushies. A door with a hand-drawn sign for the restrooms was on the other side.

"How can I help you fellows today?" The lady said.

"Is the walking area open?" I asked.

"The exhibit area is open until six, that includes the aviary. The trails are open until dark when we close the gate to the driveway." She said back.

"Ok, can I get two passes for the exhibits?" I asked.

"Sure!" She started punching information into her tablet. "Can I ask what brings you in today?"

"Just wanted to see how much has changed. It's been a few years since I have been here." I said to her.

"We've built a few new enclosures in the past few years." She looked over to Jeremy, "We have a Kingfisher in our care right now. Rocco lives in our aviary." She turned to me, "I'm sure you know we have a few red tails here too."

It took me a second to realize she was saying that because of my changes. I handed her my debit card and watched her swipe it.

"Great! The doors behind me lead to the exhibits. Follow the signs for the aviary, but make sure to only open one set of doors at a time at the aviary." She said, handing me my card.

"Thank you!' I said to her as I walked towards the door. Jeremy gave the nod to her and followed me.

Outside we were surrounded by the buildings and fences. Neat concrete paths sprawled the area leading to an outer ring of enclosures. Walking down the track and to one of the enclosures, I saw a small sign with a picture of a large black bird with a redhead.

Cathartes aura

Turkey Vulture

Inside the enclosure were two vultures standing on the ground. A thin mesh material that covered three sides of the enclosure separated us from them. It was enormous inside with artificial dead trees to make a perch. On the ground, near where the vultures stood, was a carcass of some small animal.

Looking down the path, I could see five other enclosures leading to the entirely mesh aviary, which had a screen door on the front. As I walked down the path, I peered into the various-sized enclosures. Each has a small sign on the front with information on each species and the individual birds. Most were rehabilitated from accidents but unable to be released.

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Bald Eagle

Injured when struck by a vehicle.

Ardea Herodias

Great Blue Heron

Injured due to discarded fishing line

Tyto alba

Barn Owl

Rescued from illegal pet ownership.

Pandion haliaetus

Osprey

Affected by AN-0954, displayed per request (D.C.)

The Osprey's reason confused me. I had never heard of anything called "AN-0954". I asked Jeremy, and he wasn't aware either. I went to look on my phone but didn't seem to get reception, probably because we were in the middle of the woods.

Looking at the Osprey, it seemed to be staring at us. The other birds did not seem too interested in us, but the Osprey couldn't seem to look away. It sat perched on a high branch of what I assume is an artificial tree or at least a tree that wasn't growing. It had no leaves or smaller branches. As the giant white bird stared at me, it bobbed its head once. Without thinking, I mimicked its motions with a single head bob. It then quickly gave two head bobs in response. Before I got a chance to follow up with two bobs of my own, I heard a voice from behind us.

"Darren's wanting to dance with you?" The voice said. I quickly turned around to see a younger worker. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt bearing the name of the sanctuary and was carrying a bucket.

"I think he is," I said, laughing. I was embarrassed to be making myself look like a fool in front of her, as if it wasn't bad enough to be half-bird myself. "So, is he injured or something?"

"No, he's perfectly fine. He just requested we care for him for a few years. He was afraid of the wild and he makes a great teaching tool for the kids." She said.

Not sure if she was pulling my leg or maybe she was a bit delusional, I asked her, "He requested? The Osprey?"

"Well, he wasn't fully an Osprey when he asked." She said, confused. "He made the formal request about three months before he finished transforming."

I got it, then. The Osprey was an Anima hybrid. He was like us, like Damien, and this was his final request. I looked over at him, and there was nothing that would tell you he was once human. Looking at him, I would have assumed he was always a bird, hatched from an egg and raised on caught fish from a lake. Instead, he hopped down to the floor of the enclosure and tore into a fish lying on the ground.

"So he was a hybrid?" I asked.

"Yeah, he was a pretty early hybrid. One of the first, really. He used to be our only until we recently had two others arrive." She explained.

Without thinking much, I quickly asked, "Can we see them?"

She responded, "I don't know if it would be possible today. They are both under pretty special care. Jesse and D-"

"Damien?" I interrupted her mid-sentence.

She paused before answering, "Yeah....Damien. Do you already know about the Ivory?"

"Yeah, I heard about them on the news," I said back. Jeremy's eyes opened wide, and he looked at the worker.

Jeremy made a sound to grab our attention. He pointed away, then to us. Afterward, he wrapped his index fingers and pulled them without letting them separate. She was confused looking and stared at Jeremy.

"I don't think I follow," she said, looking at me.

"He's trying to say we knew Damien before. We....I never really got to say my goodbyes to him." I said to her.

She thought for a few moments. "I can see what I can do. But you need to keep it on the down-low, ok?"

"That would be amazing! Jeremy and myself would be relieved to see him again." I said to her.

"Well, walk around for a bit, and I'll see what I can get set up for you." She said.

We continued to walk down to the last exhibit in that line. It was a similar size to the owls' display. Inside was a large-ish bird, white on the belly with brown spots on its chest. Light brown feathers covered its head, and darker brown feathers covered its wings. As if on command, it lifted its leg and turned around before jumping to the branch above it. It turned around to stare at me again but not before I caught a glimpse of its rusty orange tail feathers. Looking down at the sign, I saw it, but I already knew.

Buteo jamaicensis

Red-Tailed Hawk

Injured in a motor vehicle accident

In a way, it felt like I was looking at a mirror of my future self. I had seen a few hawks driving down the highway, perched on road signs. But this was the first time I looked at one and paid attention to its details. Like me, it had golden-colored eyes that always looked like it was thinking. Maybe it was confused about how there was a living thing that looked vaguely like it. Perhaps it knew what I was, or more probably, it did not care.

I could not stop watching it. It's hard to wrap my head around that the bird I was looking at is.. will be me. At some point, I will stand looking like it did, maybe not in captivity but perched on a tree all the same.

It jumped back to the branch in front of it. Its wings unfolding just enough to catch its balance. Once it landed, its wings pulled it, then shuffled a bit before coming to rest. Its tail shook, and it stood still on the branch once again. Tall and proud for all to see.

As I stood mesmerized by it, I felt warmth on my cheeks and neck. Unsure of fear or amazement, I stared at the bird. I glanced down at the small plaque next to the information sign.

"Sunny is estimated to be around 8 years old. She was struck by a vehicle on a local highway at 2 years old and required extensive care for recovery. Due to this care, she is no longer eligible for release due to human interaction. It is believed that she would still struggle to survive without care due to difficulty with her right-wing."

"Seems weird to be looking at myself, right?" I said, turning to look at Jeremy. But he wasn't there. Looking around, I could see him inside the aviary walking, and I stepped away from the hawk exhibit to the aviary door.

I opened the screen door and was in a small room that led to another screen door. Opening it, I was inside a vast mesh room. The path was a platform about 4 feet off the ground and more of a bridge. Walking out onto it, I could see all kinds of small birds: Cardinals, chickadees, sparrows, and blue jays. I got to a turn on the platform, and as I followed the turn, I saw Jeremy leaning against the railing.

"Yo, Jeremy," I said as I walked up to him. I realized he was looking at a small bird perched on the other side of the aviary. Darker blue with a white neck and belly, its head seemed very similar to Jeremy's. It had to be a kingfisher, and based on how Jeremy's stare was affixed to it, I would guess he already knew. I sat and watched him admire it for about 10 minutes.

"Jeremy, you ok?" I asked him, but he did not respond.

"Yo! Jeremy!" I said louder. This startled the bird he was watching, and it flew further to the one side of the aviary. "Jeremy?" I asked again.

His head flipped around to look at me quickly. Then he turned to face the bird again and let out a loud call.

"EERREH!" He called out.

After a short delay, the bird responded with a similar sound.

"Eerreh!"

Jeremy laughed before turning to face me. Once he did, his eyes widened. Thinking it was at something behind me, I turned to look but only saw a blue jay on the railing.

"Oh, you're looking at the jay," I said as I turned to face him. He still looked shocked as I stepped aside, and his stare stayed locked on me. He lifted a hand a brushed two fingers on his cheek.

"Is there something wrong.." I said as I lifted my hand and rubbed my cheek. Instead of squishy skin, I felt soft feathers. I pulled my hand back, following the feathers to the back of my neck, and Jeremy followed with his. Feathers ran from my cheeks to the back of my neck. Jeremy's finger continued to the front of his neck as I followed. I felt feathers the entire way to the front of my neck.

I started breathing fast. The warm sensation I felt made sense now! I closed my eyes and began to imagine my neck. But all I could see was the hawk on display. Its neck feathers slid across each other as its head turned. All I could think of was my feathers doing the same. I tried to imagine them gone, and the image finally hit me. I felt the warmth on my neck dissipate. Once it stopped, I opened my eyes.

Jeremy was looking at himself frantically. He looked at his arms and his feet after kicking off his shoes. He didn't seem to find anything. He took a few steps as he looked behind himself and stopped, then took another few steps before stopping again. He put his hand against his pant leg and grabbed it. He quickly pulled his hand away and looked at me.

"Ok, I think I got it. You look fine, by the way." I said to Jeremy, and he held up a hand and rotated it side to side.

I pulled out my phone and looked at myself with the front camera. Sure enough, the feathers still ran from my cheeks to the back of my neck. While the number of feathers was less, there were still some new ones on my face.

"Jeremy, Hawk boy!" I heard the voice again.

We both turned to see the worker as she walked toward us.

"Wait, did you have those before?" She said, rubbing her hand on her cheek. But before I had a chance to say anything, she started again. "I can let you see the Ivory's, but we must be quick about it. Follow me." She said as she turned to the doorway.

We followed her out of the aviary and across the grassy exhibit space. She walked up to a door and typed in a code. I don't think she realized it, but I could see what she typed. "6389" Was the code she typed into the door. It was a reasonable distance, but I could see it clear as day.

We stepped into the small room, which looked partially finished and had some construction tools lying around it. We followed her to another door that was missing a keypad, and she opened the door to let us in. The room was small, but a glass window opened to a larger space, roughly the size of the other exhibits. Just below the glass sat a small sign.

Campephilus principalis

Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Believed extinct in the wild.

There was no mention of Damien on the sign, unlike the Osprey Darren, and the sign just stated the status of the species. While looking at the sign, I saw a flash of black and white, and I looked up to see a bird with black feathers with a small white stripe covering its head. But just as I looked at it, it flew away, seemingly spooked by another bird. This one was almost identical, except for red feathers on the crest of its head.

"The one with the red is Damien," The worker said. "The other one is Jess."

As I looked at the bird, it seemed to look back. He was carefully watching me just as carefully as I watched it. Just a few days ago, it was almost human. He could speak, he could hold things, he could understand. Now he was no different from any other bird, or at least any other rare woodpecker.

"Damien?" I said aloud. "Damien, can you hear me?"

The small bird stared at me. He was not making any movement or making any sound. At least until the other woodpecker landed next to it, he still made no moves even as Jess tried to get his attention.

"Damien, do something!" I said as my breathing sped up.

As I said this, it seemed to scare the small birds. Both took off into the enclosure. Damien clung to the back wall and spun his head around to look at us. Almost as if he was afraid of us, fearful of me.

Was it still Damien? Was he still somewhere in the mind of that little bird? Would we still be there when it comes to this point?