Change Birds

Wind blew past at an alarming rate. All I could see was clouds and rain. A boom of thunder nearly knocked me out of the sky, but I kept flying doggedly on. My wings were exhausted and my eyes kept drooping from exhaustion, but I kept three thoughts in my head as I flew. Robin. Cardinal. Chickadee. I had to stay awake and alive for them.

They were my little siblings, still hatchlings back at home. We were change birds, or werebirds to the commoners. Half bird, half human. We could either be in the shape of a bird, or the shape of a human. Our mother was a normal human who had inadvertently fallen in love with a werebird and bore him four children. There was me, my little sisters, Robin and Cardinal, and my little brother Chickadee. My name was Magpie, for that was the species of bird I became. My father was Shrike, a very large and warlike man whose name fit both his bird form and his human form.

I was the oldest of my siblings and so I was the caretaker for them whenever father wasn't there. He was constantly out doing work and so I had to stay home a lot, but there were those times when he would either fall ill or get a few days off and he would send me out to do his work. We were the personal messengers for the king of Swedyn. We carried his messages as far as he asked us to and we had to get it delivered in a certain amount of time or the king would punish us by binding the little ones and keeping them locked away from the sun until the king felt it had been long enough.

I currently held a message in my claws, struggling to keep it up in the swirling torrent of rain and wind. Suddenly, a gust of wind drove my wings back too fast and I flipped over, giving a startled chirp of alarm. I managed to keep a good hold of the message as the wind threw me around for a few feet before I settled back upright and kept flying.

Soon, the rain slackened and flying was easier, made even better when the clouds parted and sunshine filtered through, warming me and making my wings feel lighter. Soon I saw it, the large castle in the distance that I was looking for. I flew faster towards it and as it loomed above me, I landed gracefully on the window sill of the kings bed chamber.

When I tapped on the window lightly with my beak, somebody to the side turned and saw me. Through the stained glass, I couldn't tell who it was, but them the window opened and a lovely woman stood there, obviously in he older years, but still beautiful. I released the message and dropped it in her hands. She smiled and rubbed a finger over the top of my head, scratching at my back and rubbing my wings. "A change bird. How lovely. I'm guessing that they call you Magpie?"

I gave a swift nod and she smiled again, stepping aside and gesturing in. "Please come in. If you flew through that storm then you'll definitely want a moment to rest and a swift bite of food."

I paused, wondering if I should start the journey back, but as I caught sight of the plate of rabbit meat off to the side, I couldn't resist. I fluttered in and landed on the floor, shifting back into my human form. As a human, I was a tall lean young man of seventeen with black hair and dark blue eyes that my mother said were perfect.

The queen reached towards the plate and pushed it toward a me, pouring a cup of water as well. I began to eat slowly, needing to gain energy for the flight back. The queen smiled at me and glanced at the parchment. "I guess this came from the king of Swedyn?"

I nodded and she cocked her head. "Do you speak?"

I paused and then nodded, coughing to clear my throat and change my vocal chords back to human speech. My voice was still hoarse because I wasn't accustomed to speaking human much. "Yes, but I don't talk much like a human."

She nodded and held up a finger. "I'll be right back. I have to go tell my husband that you brought the message."

I gave a curt nod and kept eating, but once she'd left, I walked back to the window, about to shift and fly back to my consequential door opened and I swung around, meeting the eyes of a young girl with long black hair and green eyes, holding a small net and a bird cage.