Uncaged

Chapter 6

Clarissa seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by her surroundings and appeared to be scared of every little thing she didn't understand. Lexi didn't blame her though, She wasn't used to her surroundings like Ethan- this was all new to her... For the past few days Lexi had been comforting Clarissa, hoping to get her accustomed to her new surroundings, though it didn't really work as Alexis had hoped- Clarissa still acted hostile towards any workers at the lab and was struck with fear whenever she was touched. Alexis figured that without contact with her species, Clarissas behaviour would never improve

Alexis really disliked her grandfathers idea of bringing Clarissa in, but she didn't have much of a choice in the matter and knew she'd have to oblige to his demands at some point. She knocked on the door of the enclosure to notify (y/n) of her presence before walking inside with Clarissa behind her. (y/n) was sitting on a log while Ethan slept sprawled out in front of her, when she noticed Alexis, she smiled, but her expression soon changed to a puzzled one when she saw Clarissa. "Oh my god, Alexis is that another harpy!?" (y/n) exclaimed, her mouth agape. She knew this was going to happen at some point, but it still caught her off guard

"Yes, after years of searching, we managed to find another harpy, and we're hoping to perform some tests with Ethan and this female harpy, Clarissa." (y/n)'s eyes widened "Seriously!? You just 'found' another harpy? How the hell is that even possible!?" (y/n) boomed

"Well, it certainly wasn't simple- it took over 30 years for my grandfather to find Clarissa and-" Alexis covered her mouth after letting such confidential information slip

"Your grandfather?" (y/n) questioned

"Uh- Yes.. my grandfather- this whole project is being run by my family" Alexis exclaimed

"So they let a single family run a government issue project?" (y/n) questioned

"It's more of a personal, family project" Alexis exclaimed, clearly trying to change the subject as quickly as possible "but anyways- about Clarissa- we're trying to get her to 'mate' with Ethan so that we can get more information on the species mating rituals and hopefully sooner or later, their offspring" Alexis explained

(y/n)'s cheeks went pink at this statement "and I'm going to be here to watch all that go down?" She questioned.

Alexis frowned and put on a forced smile. "I tried to argue that, but they weren't easily convinced to change their plans.. and they refused to let you stop studying Ethan in the enclosure"

(y/n) groaned, "maybe I'll get used to this set up overtime? Being a third wheel for two attractive bird people. I mean- it was bound to come to this at some point right?"

Alexis just shrugged her shoulders "Anyways, I have some important business to attend to, so try to get used to this. Tomorrow I'll see if I can ease the stress for you a bit, but I just don't have the time right now"

She exclaimed before ushering Clarissa inside and leaving the enclosure. (y/n) and Clarissa stood there in silence for a while, Clarissa maintained a fighting stance in the case she'd need to defend herself. (y/n) awkwardly laughed before hesitantly taking a step towards the girl.. hopefully she could somewhat understand English like Ethan

"Hey, I'm (y/n) I hope we can be friends since we're both dealing with a similar situation.. though I guess mine is more voluntary"

Clarissa narrowed her eyes at (y/n)

"Well- anyways- this is Ethan- he's a harpy like you- maybe you guys could try getting along since you're the same species- I can understand why me being a human might make you uncomfortable"

Clarissa let out an excited shriek before she raced towards Ethan and tackled the boy, letting out several delighted bird noises. Ethan slowly awoke, a yawn escaping his lips before he stretched out his full wingspan and noticed the girl on top of him. He shrieked in fear thinking he was being attacked and jumped up in the air, his eyes wide with terror before noticing it was a female harpy. He descended and tilted his head at the woman, looking over at (y/n) in confusion

"Ethan this is Clarissa" (y/n) said "she was brought in so that we can study a female counterpart of your species and um" (y/n) cleared her throat "for other reasons too"

Ethan didn't seem to fully register what (y/n) was saying, but nodded anyways. "Anyways, you guys should try to get along.. for the sake of our studies" she exclaimed, taking a step towards the two. (y/n) was caught off guard when Clarissa dove in front of Ethan, her full wingspan spread out. She didn't seem to recognize this as a warning stance and took another step towards the two... big mistake

Clarissa then dove on top of (y/n), a loud screech escaping her mouth as she placed one of her clawed talons over (y/n)'s face. (y/n) knew that these creatures were far more strong and dangerous than her, so she was extremely terrified that she was at the mercy of one. "Uh- oh shit" (y/n) said "haha, oh god I'm shaking" she nervously said aloud "please- don't hurt me?" She requested pathetically. Ethan chirped in protest of Clarissas actions, but she didn't listen to him
"Maybe she just sees me as a threat?" (y/n) thought, trying her best to look as unthreatening as possible. Ethan didn't seem to care that much about the whole thing, which hurt (y/n) a bit.. but she figured she shouldn't expect him to, it's not like they had that close a relationship or anything. Clarissa then brought her talon down to strike (y/n), but to her surprise, Ethan swooped over and knocked Clarissa off of her, towering over the harpy girl. (y/n)'s mouth lay agape at Ethan's action. She was hoping he'd try to do something to intervene, but she didn't expect him to straight up tackle Clarissa, though (y/n) was confused as to why the harpy girl was so hostile in the first place. She turned her attention over to the two harpy's, Ethan still tower over Clarissa, who had a light blush on her face, whilst Ethan's expression was threatening and passive aggressive... (y/n) hoped it wouldn't be too hard for the two to form a relationship after this incident... Lexi would kill her if that were the case.. Clarissa raised her head and gently rubbed her cheek against Ethan's, seemingly as a sign of affection "huh I better write that one down" (y/n) thought "that might be a courting practice or something" she thought, almost forgetting about her dangerous situation in hopes of writing down the newfound information. She didn't seem to notice Ethan was behind her, protecting her from the aggressive harpy girl, she figured that she'd be safe as long as Ethan was against any violence and allowed herself to drift asleep, still slightly terrified by her near death experience. Ethan noticed this and walked over to (y/n), wrapping himself around her and resting his wing over her, gently spooning the girl, shooting Clarissa a glare before allowing himself to fall back asleep as well... (y/n) figured his protectiveness was just because he knew she was his source of food and water since she was caring for him... oh how wrong she was