Ash takes a seat in the arena, the clear, blue sky stretched wide above him. The crowds are pouring in behind him and he shuffles closer to Squiddo as a shady looking guy plonks himself next to Ash. Ash growls "I hate people." and Squiddo laughs, pulling him closer despite Ash's protests. Before they know it, the stadium is filled and the show is starting. Birds fly from one side of the arena to the other, swirling around the actors in the centre and soaring over the audience. A particularly large falcon darts over the pair, leaving feathers falling in its wake. He hears the bird land behind him and he turns around to see where. Standing there is a guy with red hair, brown, leathery clothes for the show and a golden smile, clearly a bird handler for the show. The guy is chuckling and feeding the falcon a piece of what looks like meat. The bird is perched on his arm, which looks strong. It has to be, though, as he's literally holding a bird of prey on his forearm. He stretches his arm forward, and the falcon takes off, swooping over the audience to join the show once again.
The bird handler shoots Ash an award-winning smile before looking up, grin dissipating in concentration. He stretches his arm up to catch another bird, this time a royal eagle. Ash spins back around before the blush can fully take over his face, turning his focus back on the show.
*★*___*★*___*★*___*★*___*★*___*★*___*★*___*★*___*★*
Ash was enjoying the show, but he couldn't get his mind off the bird hander from before. By this time the handler has moved to the other side of the stadium and is being a living, breathing bird perch over there, fluidly catching eagles and falcons before sending them on their merry way. Squiddo is cheering beside him, gasping in awe at the birds soaring over her. As Ash turns back to stare at the handler, Squiddo shakes his shoulders and he turns back with a jolt. "Squiddo! What is it!" He snaps unintentionally, but Squiddo is too distracted to care. She's pointing upwards, behind him. He turns around and sees a huge air balloon in the air, floating high in the sky. Large birds start pouring out of it, flying higher and higher before tucking their wings in and diving down to the centre of the arena. The storm of birds spin in a synchronised circle, growing wider with each loop before they spin off to the outskirts of the stadium to torment the handlers. Those poor people now have multiple birds on their arms and shoulders as they struggle to put them on a wooden perch before more come to harass them.
The handlers move across the stadium slowly as the show goes on. Ash is now focused on the show, cheering with Squiddo so he doesn't notice the handler from before coming closer to him. With a mischievous grin, he gently places a falcon on Ash's head. Ash freezes, eyes wide. Squiddo turns to see what's wrong and barks a laugh in his expense cuz they have a sibling relationship. The handler and Squiddo share a grin as Ash whips around, careful to not unbalance the falcon, and opens his mouth to snap at the handler, but no words come out as he realises who it is. Once his moment of weakness is over his tongue sharpens and eyes harden once again. "What was that for??" The handler grins. "I thought you'd want to hold a falcon. I suppose touching one is too uncomfortable for an inexperienced person" He shrugs and sighs, clearly holding back a smirk. "Maybe your friend would like to try." Squiddo straightens and beams at him, nodding furiously. The handler holds out his arm, ignoring Ash's scowl, and the bird on Ash's head hops on it, before he reaches out his other arm behind him to catch an oncoming bird. Squiddo's smile widens as he reaches over Ash and the falcon jumps on her shoulder. Ash grumbles. "She has it on her shoulder though, I had it on my head. Of course it's more comfortable for-" He cuts off as a weight is added to his own shoulder. He turns his head and realises it's the bird the handler caught before. The handler in question is leaning back, a proud, satisfied smile on his face. His eyes are obstructed by dark sunglasses, but it doesn't matter. Ash can still see his smile. He looks away once he realises that he's staring, instead turning his attention to the beautiful falcon on his shoulder. The bird tilts its head, looking at him curiously with large, black eyes. Per closer inspection Ash notices a ring of yellow around its pupils. It ruffles its feathers, patterns of mottled brown, grey and even dark green, marked with white on the underbelly. The handler lifts his arm up in front of him, gesturing for Ash and Squiddo to do the same. As they copy him the falcons walk down their arms and ruffle their wings, taking off as the music changes and weaving back into the performance. The handler immediately goes back to catching birds, this time two vultures, one landing on his forearm and the other his shoulder. He turns around and places one on the perch, the one on his shoulder taking off soon after. Ash could watch him do this all day, smoothly working with the animals like he's done this all his life. But he doesn't. He turns his attention back to the show.
hm
