Chai

Chapter 12

I turned my head. His eyes were wide and glossy. He scooted closer.

I nodded, hands sweaty, "Yeah." He nodded and breathed out in a shaky breath. He took my hands. He licked his lips and frowned. His brow furrowed as blue hair fell into his face.

He whispered, staring at our hands, and rubbing his thumb over my hand, "Is it okay if I tell you about my family?" I nodded, and he clenched his jaw. His lip ring, steel and hard in the dim light, shook weakly. I extended an arm, but he snatched my hand down back into our laps. He stuttered, still avoiding my eyes, "We've been... um... dating for months now..." I nodded silently, as this was, in fact, quite true. His ears pressed against his head and his tail tucked up into his lap. He licked his lips. He breathed in, deep and slow, and squeezed my hands. He whispered, scooting back, "And... I... Well... I just... I was thinking..." I nodded, wings shuffling quietly. His hands quivered, and it built up until it took over his whole body. "I... I... I can't, I'm sorry." Tears pooled in his beautiful eyes.

I whispered, not moving, "Can I give you a hug?" Before I finished the last word, I was tackled into a hug. Sobs echoed off the walls as he clung to me like a bear. His chest was an earthquake as he fell apart. He fell like Icarus, so strong until he went crashing into the sea like the rest of us:

Broken, amazed, and still warm from our destructive courage.

He cried, wrapping himself tighter around me, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

I whisper, sheltering him under my wings, "It's okay, shhhh..." I began to hum as I held him tight against me. His sobs began to increase. He muttered things, things I cannot bear to repeat, things that ripped me apart... lies about himself. I held him quietly, correcting the lies when his mind began to torment him again.

When it became obvious that he was becoming exhausted, I leaned back and let him lay on my chest. He whimpered, injured from hands long past departed. He soaked my shirt with tears as we lay there.

We both fell asleep quickly, our breaths slow and steady.

I'd do it again every day if he needed me to.

*

A goose honked at the window. A full goose. Do not mistake me for saying a goose Radiated, no... this was that majestic asshole. Long, slender neck, beady eyes, long, serrated beak, muscular wings. The beast stood six feet tall at the top of the spine when walking, a true dinosaur of the ages, outside the kitchen window.

It is only logical what I did next.

I screamed blue murder. Gizmo rushed in, shovel in hand from stoking the fire. He burst into a fit of chainsaw laughter, falling to his knees. He wheezed, eyes watering, "That's Prichard. He and his mate have been living here for generations. Quite the specimen of a Canadian Goose." He rose to his feet, dusting the soot off his hands. He opened the window, and Prichard shoved his beak through the window. It filled the window like a massive harpoon. Loud honks and squawks filled the room.

Gizmo laughed, "The heck, Prichard. Get your nose out of the house, you know better." Gizmo placed his hands on the massive beak and shoved it back through the window. I smiled incredulously. These birds were supposed to be extinct thousands of years ago! Yet, here he stands, in all his muscular glory. He hissed before taking into the sky, blocking the sun for ten minutes as he flew over the house. I covered my ears, the wingbeats like thunder as the house shook violently. Gizmo just laughed and fell to the floor with the violent shakes. He giggled as he landed on his butt. He rose to his feet when the shaking stopped and swung an arm around my shoulders. He squeezed me close, eyes as bright as the dew on the window screen as he gazed down at me.

That is, until smoke filled the room.

Gizmo yelped, ears back and tail tracking soot, "THE BACON!!!!" He dove for the pan, but only managed to catch his sleeve on fire and knock the pan to the floor. I glanced down to the glass of milk in my hand and dashed to Gizmo. I threw the milk on his arm, much to his surprise.

I stated, calm despite the fire burning on the stove, "Milk go brrrr." We stared at each other; complete idiots yet completely aware. Of what were we aware? Certainly not the fire that now took over the near countertop. We leaned into each other. Our lips crashed together. He tasted slightly of pine smoke, as soot had lined his lips. We grabbed onto each other's clothes and held each other close until the fire alarm went off and we were forced to deal with the issues before us. Gizmo grabbed the fire extinguisher and eliminated the threat as I stood there, blushing, and panting. I fixed my shirt, which had become frumpy and disastrous. I glanced at the clock: 10 am.

"Did I say you could fix your shirt?" I glanced up in alarm. Gizmo towered over me, glaring daggers at me. My blood ran cold.

Before I could say anything intelligent, he nearly died laughing. I nearly did too, but from shock. This man is impossible. Completely impossible. He hugged me tight and wheezed, "You should've seen your FACE... that was amazing!" I glared at the fire extinguisher excrement covering the wall as he calmed himself down.

I whispered, eyes catching motion in the woods, "Babe, something's outside."

He peaked out the open window, frowning, "No, I don't see..." His ears perked up and his sniffed the air. His tail began to wag as he leaned out the window with excitement building in his eyes. He jumped out the window in one swift motion.

"GIZMO!!!" I heard him hit the ground with a sickening thud. I ran to the window and pushed it fully open. I leapt out, wings flaring. I whimpered as they strained against the wind but kept scanning the ground for him. I circled, staring down at the ground for any indication of him. The ground is immaculate, not a speck of blood tainted the rotting snow. I landed on a nearby balcony, and screamed, "GIZMO? GIZMO?"

A voice coos, sending chills up my spine, "You're new here, aren't you?" I spun around, face to face with my nightmare. He raised a bat, "Let's get acquainted." Everything went black.