A Taste For Chicken

Birdsong - Part 1 (NSFW)

Hawks and Heron sat on the steps outside of Nest HQ, both of them looking more than a little miserable. The early spring air was fresh, the trees starting to bud with new life, but neither of them could appreciate it. Their wings were ruffled, feathers puffed out slightly in agitation, and their usually sharp, focused eyes were tinged with a restless glaze.

It was the first day of their spring rut, and they were both feeling it. Hard.

The suppression hormones they’d taken hadn’t kicked in yet for the day, leaving them flushed, their bodies humming with a wild energy that neither of them could fully shake off. Hawks rolled his shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension in his back, but his wings bristled, making the effort pointless.

“Man, this sucks,” Hawks muttered, running a hand through his already messy hair. His eyes flickered toward a group of women walking by, and he immediately snapped his gaze away, cursing under his breath, "This is gonna be a long day."

Heron sat beside him, his usually pristine white feathers looking just as frazzled. His yellow eyes were distant, fixated on nothing in particular as he slumped against the wall, letting his head fall back with a frustrated sigh. "I should’ve confessed to Kiwi ages ago," he said, voice tinged with regret, "Maybe then I wouldn’t feel like my dick is going to explode right now."

Hawks snorted, leaning back on his elbows, wings spreading slightly in the sun. “Hey, at least you’ve got a mate lined up for next year. You guys are all cute and happy now, right?”

Heron turned his head to look at Hawks, eyes narrowing slightly. "And what about you, huh?" He huffed, his feathers twitching with irritation, "What about Hal?"

Hawks straightened up, shaking his head with a firm scoff. "No way. Hal’s... complicated," he sighed, "She’s not the mate-for-life type, man. Besides, we’d probably kill each other before the season’s over."

Heron rolled his eyes, though a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, "You’re hopeless."

"Says the guy who couldn’t confess for years," Hawks shot back, but his tone was light, the usual banter between them easing some of the tension.

They sat in silence for a moment, both of them still feeling the uncomfortable pulse of their instincts but trying to ignore it as best they could. After another deep sigh, Hawks glanced at Heron, the corners of his mouth quirking up in a smirk. "You think if we just flew outta here for a bit, anyone’d notice?"

Heron raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, they’d notice."

Hawks groaned, leaning his head back. "Damn."

Hawks ran a hand down his face, suddenly feeling heat rise to his cheeks as he remembered the humiliating incident from the day before. His wings, already on edge, twitched with fresh agitation, feathers puffing out even more. He groaned, slumping forward slightly, as if the weight of the memory was too much to bear.

Heron, noticing the shift in Hawks’ demeanor, raised an eyebrow, looking at him curiously. “What?” he asked, his voice laced with curiosity.

Hawks didn’t answer right away, just sighed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. But Heron wasn’t about to let it go. His lips curled into a knowing grin as he nudged Hawks with his elbow. “Come on, spill. What happened?”

Hawks groaned again, louder this time, as if dragging the story out of him was physically painful. “Alright, fine,” he muttered, sitting up straight but still avoiding Heron’s eyes, “I snuck back from patrol yesterday to change clothes and grab a shower, right? So I head back to my room, but Halcyon’s in there. For some reason. I don’t even know why.”