[OUTDATED] ☆The Caged Bird☆ Steven Universe x Siren reader

part 4: a new day, a new life

"Hey...."

"Hey little buddy..."

"It's time to wake up."

You awaken to soft nudging against your wing, companied by a faint, warm whispering voice gently whispering to you, gently pulling you out of sleep. You yawned groggily and pushed yourself up, and sniffed the air a few times, before looking up at your human friend with a drowsy smile. "Good morning, (name)." He greets with a soft giggle. "Did you sleep alright?"

You nodded tiredly in response, arching your back as you stretched your wings and gave them a little wake up flutter before sitting up and rubbing your eyes. "I got you some breakfast." He stated, holding out a plate of sliced (fruit), much to your delight. You eagerly crawl onto the plate and start to eat the slices, much to his amusement, as he giggled and set the plate on the ground in front of him. He knelt down in front of you, smiling down at your small form. "I would have made you something else like waffles or pancakes... but I figured I'd give you something healthy, to start the day off."

Pancakes? Waffles? What's that? You looked up at him quizzically, cheeks full of (fruit), which made him giggle in amusement. And you actually smiled at this. You haven't really heard a genuine laugh from a human up close, let alone be the one to cause it. It felt nice not to be feared for once. After you finished off the last few bites you wiped your mouth off and looked up at him, signalling Steven to lower his hand to you, prompting you to climb onto it. up close, Steven tipped his head slightly to the side. "You've... gotten a bit bigger since yesterday." He quietly murmurs, taking note at how you were a few inches bigger than yesterday. As of now you were a few inches bigger than size of his hand. He just hums and shrugs, running two fingers over your back, gently as he rose to his feet. "Come on, bud. Let's go greet the gems." You smiled enthusiastically, whipping your tail side to side in eagerness.

I have much to learn in this new world.
~~~~~~~~~~

In the beach house, the gems are lounging in the living room, doing various activities, until they hear familiar footsteps and the sounds of joyful giggles approach. pearl is the first to notice you both and she smiles warmly. "Hello, steven! hello, (name)." she greets cheerfully, to which you respond with a friendly wave from his shoulder, wagging the tip of your tail cheerily. The gems chuckled at this, watching as you rubbed your cheek against his, purring contently. "They've grown rather attached of you already." Garnet calmly notes, with a smile. Steven blushed faintly, lifting a hand to you, letting you play with his index finger. "Y-yeah. I-I guess so." amethyst sits up, her eyes catching glimpse of your wings as you fluttered them slightly. "So... when do you think they'll be able to fly?"

"Huh?" steven seemed caught off guard, if not startled by this question. "I mean, they've got wings, dude. when do you think they'll be able to fly?" garnet shrugs. "The real question is, how big they'll get." Pearl leaned forward and squinted slightly, taking notice of your size. "oh, they've already gotten a bit bigger, haven't they?" Steven chuckled, suddenly looking tense. "Y-yeah, I guess." He brings a hand to your cheek, pressing your face into his. "B-but we shouldn't rush them.." He chuckled again, only it sounded a bit nervous as he made his way towards the door. "Me and (name) are just gonna get some air for a bit. We'll be right back." As he exits, you turn and wave at the gems, who wave back at you in return. "Be careful, now!"
~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ah... the beach." steven sighed, looking around at it, lowering a hand to the sand to let you get off. he watched as you crawled off his hand and onto the soft sand, smiling as you almost immediately started to play in it, digging and watching it run through your fingers. "It's... been here for years... but it never changes." he looks out across the ocean, his hands on his hips. "...It's kinda strange, that you're the only siren to have come here after all these years." You look up at him, tail flicking slightly in curiosity. "I... wonder... what DO you sirens do in your free time? ...aside from.. singing that is." You just stared up at him curiously, twitching your tail tip slightly. Interesting question... As far as you remembered, sirens didn't have much free time. If anything, you spent most of your time hunting and trying to avoid getting hunted by predators and humans. Though when you did have time to yourselves, you'd glady soak up the sun on a large rock amongst your peers... hmm.

You tried to answer, but all's that came out were trills and chirps, similar to that of a young dolphin's call. He just chuckled softly, finding your sounds rather cute. "I... guess I'll have to wait until your older to talk with you." He chuckled and sighed, returning his gaze to the ocean. You decided that this was a good opportunity to explore, in search of seashells or any other valuable collectibles. Such a kind spirited human deserves a gift after all!

You wander on a bit, occasionally digging, in search of a suitable shell for your new human friend, grumbling in frustration at the large amount of broken shell remnants and human litter you found instead. Neptune's trident, I knew some humans had a bad habit of leaving stuff around, but this is just crazy! Shaking your head, you continued your hunt, determined to find the perfect gift.

After much wandering and digging, you, at last manage to find a worthy present; a beautiful shiny clam, perfectly preserved and clean, much to your delight. you lift it towards the sun and examined its shine in the light, with a bemused little smile. wow... what luck! Your smile faltered slightly, as suspicion made it's way into your foremind. ...it's almost... too perfect.

As silly as the thought was, it was true. Most clams you'd find wouldn't have such a clean look to it. In fact, most were broken in half, with bits of meat still clinging to it and other times they were just shattered beyond recognition. But this one, was in peak condition. No cracks, not snapped in half.. the whole clam was still there! ...almost as if this was freshly pulled-

sqwaa!

your blood froze as a familiar piercing squawk sounded over the waves... right beside you. slowly, you looked to the side and felt yourself go stiff in fear at the dreaded creature before you.
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After a bunch of severe writer's block, this is what I managed to rack my brain for...😅