shatterverse | (no subject)

Entry tags:

rachel (au),
tobias

(no subject)

December in Kansas is nothing like December in California.

Translation: Rachel is freezing.

And also in the meadow she's been sleeping in for weeks with Tobias, rolling up her sleeping bag and packing a backpack.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tobias is finally starting to get used to waking up around someone he knows and cares about. It's been a pretty long process, really, but he's starting to think he sort of likes it.

He ruffles out his feathers and shifts a bit on the branch he's chosen as his perch.

<Good morning,> he says somewhat sleepily.

She glances up at him with a smile. That it's cold isn't anything new - it's why she's started keeping real clothes around to go over her morphing suit. Right now, she's wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, and a pair of pull-on boots.

"Morning."

But her teeth are still chattering a little.

"I can't sleep outside anymore."

Tobias considers this for a moment or two before bobbing his head.

<It's getting cold.> he admits. <Do you know of somewhere we can spend the winter?> The "we" is automatic at this point.

Of course.

"There's plenty of abandoned buildings in the city," Rachel replies with a nod. "How are you doing? Can redtails manage snow?"

<It doesn't really bother me,> Tobias explained. <I won't say it's my favorite thing ever, but I'm built to handle quite a bit more cold than we're likely to find here.>

But he wouldn't mind warmer sleeping arrangements. Hawks were still warm-blooded, afterall.

"Maybe we can find a good branch and set it up like a shelf," Rachel muses, straightening and putting a hand on one of the lower branches. "It'll be like this for a few months at least, right? I don't want to be going in and out of polar bear every two hours until February."

She shivers - no, shudders. Taking shifts in arctic snows is not her favorite memory.

<Yeah,> he answers softly, remembering. <A nice building sounds like an excellent plan.>

He shakes himself out a bit and launches into the air. <Were you thinking to find one today?> No time like the present, after all.

"I meant to do it yesterday and forgot," Rachel admits, tilting her chin to watch him fly. She grabs the sleeping bag and backpack and starts walking toward the street. "Not that I want to be in town, but this is getting ridiculous. Have you gotten clothes yet?"

<Not yet.> He tries to keep the unspoken "and I wasn't really planning on it" from making it across.

Maybe he even managed it...

That's ridiculous. Why wouldn't he plan on it? There's food and people and things to do that aren't the job.

And maybe someday, if he thought about it enough, he could...

"We can go shopping later. You'll freeze if you try to walk around in your morphing suit."

<That's true,> he admits.

He's not sure why she expects him to change, but he remembers the last time they didn't talk about it, and isn't really interested in rehashing that particular disaster.

<After we find somewhere to sleep?> As long as they manage to maintain priorities.

Because there's no more war. There's no need for him to keep that weapon anymore.

It's not like he's her, after all.

"Yeah, I want to get settled first," Rachel agrees with a nod. "Preferably on the edge of town, I don't want to be around all the weird nightlife."

<Can't argue with that,> Tobias says with a mental chuckle. <You want to head into town? I can catch up after I've had breakfast.>

They're not far away, but it's far enough that she won't get there before him without morphing, even if he does stop for a bite.

Rachel smiles and nods again, looking up at him. "Happy hunting."

Tobias sweeps over and flies off, but it isn't long before he's had breakfast and is slowly beating his way back toward town, eyes scanning the ground for signs of Rachel's passing.

There's nothing to be seen.

Other than the sock tied on the railing of that one building. Almost like a sign of some sort.

If he had lips, Tobias would probably smile. As it is he glides in for a gentle landing on that railing and looks around, eyes sharp.

There's a dirty window to the right. Someone from inside that had been looking for movement would probably notice a hawk flying in.

Which is why Rachel opens the door wide and nods her head toward the inside. "There's a chair that looks pretty sturdy."

He bobs his head and maneuvers awkwardly through the door. Red tailed hawks aren't precisely large birds, but his wing-span's over three feet, so it's not precisely an easy task.

Still, he manages, and he lands heavily on the chair he hopes she means.

It doesn't splinter under his talons, so it'll do. Rachel is nearby in any case, hair pulled back in case he needs a shoulder.

Her sleeping bag has already been set up, clothes hung in a musty closet, backpack open. The room itself is musty, dusty, dirty, but Rachel looks surprisingly content with it.

Then again, it has walls. That's a big improvement.

Tobias' head scans back and forth once he's sure he's not about to be dumped on the floor.

<Not bad,> he eventually decides.

Of course Tobias hasn't lived inside in over three years now, so he's not precisely an expert.

"Just like the Hilton," Rachel replies with a smirk. Hands settle on her hips and she tilts her head to the side, thoughtful. "I think I'm going to go get some food. Do you need anything?"

He almost offers to go with her, but sometimes, he knows, she needs her privacy.

<No. I'm fine, thanks.> He lets his eyes slide closed. <I think I'll take a nap. Wake me when you get back.>

Fingers brush his wing, gentle.

"I will. Back soon."

She'd thought about going to one of the kitchens, getting soup or something. But if he's going to sleep... well, then she's going to hunt.

It's not something he'd ever admit. Or even recognize, really. But Tobias likes when she hunts. It... proves he's not all that crazy. He likes the way he is.

And, in some ways at least, she likes it too.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only