30 Minute Fic: The Blue Jay and the Crow

There was the usual hustle and bustle of the market place all around him. People were moving and talking and trading, everything was so full of life. John Egbert couldn't believe his eyes. He was intrigued by the large city. Since he came from a tiny town on the outskirts of the kingdom; anything bigger than a small village was a wow factor. He weaved in and out of the crowd taking in all the sights and sounds. This was the first time he'd been to a bigger town. Everything was so exciting.

He was a little hot underneath the large coat he was wearing, but it was worth it to see this. John loved people; he loved everything about being around people. It was all so much fun, he could hardly stand it. Eventually he ended up buying an apple and moving away from the market place to the center of the town near a water fountain. He rested by the fountain, enjoying the cool breeze and spray from the water.

The people passed by, not even noticing his existence. Which was great, he loved just being able to observe. 'I wonder if I can take a nap here…' John went to lay down, the sun warming the stones used to make the fountain. He was about to close his eyes when he heard screaming. John shot up and looked around. Generally screaming wasn't a good sign. Standing he shifted his attention to scanning the square. The people didn't seem to be in a panic, his clear blue eyes kept looking for what could have caused the sudden commotion.

His ears caught it first. "Demon!" "Black Angel!" "Fucking crow!" "Get back here!"  Shouting. Lots and lots of shouting.

John ran back towards the market place. His feet skidded to a stop and his mouth dropped. There was a crowd forming around a boy. The sheer number of guards and people wasn't what made him stop and stare. It was the boy himself.

His hair was blond, so blond it was almost white, and he had such pale skin. He was topless, which revealed the reason John couldn't stop staring. On his back were two large black wings. He put a hand to his mouth and took another step forward. He could feel his own back muscles flex and pull. The other boy had a smug expression on his face, eyes obscured by dark sunglasses.

"Caw caw motherfuckers!" He shouted spreading his wings wide, knocking several sentries to the ground. From a standstill he managed to get airborne. Heaving his body into the air and pumping the strong black wings. He pulled a bag close to his chest and laughed. The mysterious boy took off down the street flying high above the crowd.

John couldn't believe his eyes. Before he was aware of it, his legs were moving, he was giving chase to the boy. "Wait!" he called, "Stop! Hold up!" He kept after him. The boy was getting away; there was no way he could keep up on foot.

The winged boy heard someone calling to him; it wasn't one of the normal voices that usually chased after him. It was something different. He looked down to see another boy about his age running after him. "What the hell does he want?" He muttered to himself. The boy didn't give up, he was still giving chase, calling out to him.

John thought it was impossible, he could already feel his heart pounding strong in his chest, and his lungs burning. "Please! Wait!" He was so close, so very close, he couldn't let this chance slip away. "Please!"

For some reason the winged boy actually slowed his pace, there was something intriguing about this new person. He watched him fumbled to take off his coat, and then his own eyes grew wide.

John new he couldn't keep up at his current pace. He just wasn't fast enough. 'Well, here goes nothing!' He ripped off the heavy coat and relaxed his back muscles. He could feel his own wings slide into place and flexed them once or twice. "Wait up! Please! I've never met someone like me before!" John called desperately to the other boy. He fanned his wings out to their full length knocking over a stand as he ran by. "Sorry!" He yelled behind him, but never slowed his pace. He started pumping them, trying to fly as well.

The other boy dipped a bit lower, "Are you fucking insane? What are you doing?"

"I-I'm trying to talk to you!" John answered still attempting to get his huge wings to catch air. "I've never seen another person with wings! I thought I was alone."

"Well too bad for you I fly alone. Now hide yourself before you get yourself into trouble." He angled upward and began to soar high above the people again.

"I said wait!" John called still desperately trying to fly. He knew he should have practiced a bit before leaving. With one mighty downbeat he was able to leave the ground briefly. He kept running as soon as his feet touched back down. He tried again and again, heaving himself into the air and beating his wings. People dove and ducked out of the way of his sixteen foot wingspan. "Damn it all, work!" He pushed down again with his wings, suddenly, as if a prayer had been made a strong gust of wind swept through the city. John's wings picked up the wind and pulled him high into the sky. He briefly forgot what he was doing in shock and surprise. He found himself twenty feet in the air, easily gaining altitude. "H-Holy shit." A grin spread across his face. "I…I'm flying. Wow. I'm actually in the air!" He spread his wings out and felt every feather move under the wind.

"Hey dumbass watch it!" John looked up startled as he flew straight into the other boy. The black winged boy grunted and moved himself away from the tangle of limbs and wings. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He watched the other boy struggle to stay up and start falling, his arms flailing, attempting to grab something. That something happened to be his leg. "Let go of me idiot! We'll both crash!" The boy just screamed in panic and flapped frantically. "Just, fucking stop it!" He commanded, "Stop moving!" The boy did has he was told. He reached down and grabbed the other boys arms and pumped his own ebony wings up and down a few times, breathing a quick sigh of relief as they rose in the air. "Goddamn it how did I get stuck with this?" He mumbled working his wings twice as hard to carry the both himself and the boy away from the town. Eventually he touched ground, dropping the other boy down before landing himself. "What the hell is your problem? You don't just go unfurling wings like that in the middle of
a city! Especially if you have no idea how to use them! Is your brain made of shit?"

John just walked forward and hugged the other boy. "I'm sorry, I've never flown before, that was my first time, I thought I was going to die…"

The other boy groaned and pushed him off. "Ok, just, fucking…stop touching me. Now, what's your name? Or do I get to call you Shit for Brains?"

"John Egbert! Please don't call me Shit for Brains. I'm usually pretty smart, I was just afraid of losing sight of you."

"You can call me Dave." He sat down and neatly folded his wings behind his back. "I'm going to be honest; you're the first person like me I've ever seen as well." He watched as John sat as well, tucking his wings behind him awkwardly. They were bigger than his own, and not black, in fact, they looked exactly like those of a blue jay. "But, how the fuck do you not know how to fly? I mean you were born with those right?" John nodded. "How could you not try them out?"

John laughed a bit, "I guess I never needed to." He said simply. "I mean, where I'm from, I didn't have to. I tried to keep a low profile, the townspeople didn't mind, in fact they always thought I brought good luck, but that didn't mean I wasn't self-conscious."

"So you never stared at the sky and wondered why you weren't up there?"

"Well, I, sure, maybe a few times. But honestly, I could get around find in my town, there was no need."

"Your brain is broken."

"It is not!" John protested.

"You have fucking wings. And you never thought to use them. Like you know, they're there for a reason."

"Well," John started slowly, "maybe you could teach me!"

"Ha, like I'd…" He looked over at John, "actually…that doesn't sound half bad."

"Wait, really? But you just said you fly alone."

"I changed my mind." He stood up and helped John up, then slung the bag he was carrying over his shoulder. "I can't have you disgracing all of bird-people kind Egbert."

"Hey! I'm not a disgrace!"

"You can't even fly."

"We're not bird people then!"

He laughed, "Then what the hell are we? These aren't the wings of an angel." Dave walked to the top of a hill. He spread his wings wide and ran downward throwing himself at the wind and gaining altitude.

"Hey! Wait! Dave! I can't fly!" John ran to the top and watched the other boy circle back.

"It's time to learn." Dave grabbed John under the arms and pulled him up.

"D-Dave do not drop me!"

"Too late." He smirked and let go. John briefly froze before his instincts kicked in and he spread his wings wide. They caught the wind and he could feel them move smoothly up and down. Dave rocketed past him. "Welcome to our world John, we're the only ones who get to rule it!"

John tilted his wings up a bit, trying to figure out how to dip and pull up. There were moments when he felt like he was going to fall, but he never did. He followed Dave, growing more confident with every down beat. "Our world…"