Chapter 14 #2
I want to find every shifter who made a comment like that about this kid and see if they still think it takes working wings to be part of a flock when they're the one being cast aside.
Damn it, he is flock. Not just because he's Cora's hatchling.
Or because his crow shifter genes mean that even as a latent, if he ever has kids, he could pass on a crow form he doesn't physically share.
Luca is one of us in his own right, the kid might never wear his feathers, but they're still an indelible part of him.
Even if he didn't have a drop of shifter DNA, he would still be part of our flock in the same sense that Myra is flock by choice.
This kid is ours, and I'd choose him over any shifter who thinks otherwise, every damn time.
I have a fair idea of who among our wider flock thinks that way. Getting angry doesn't actually help the kid calm down though. It doesn't reassure him that not every corvid shifter in the rave agrees with that stripe of bigotry. Too bad I have no idea what will help.
Gillian might, with her degree and love of kids, and his mom must, since she's done a stellar job raising the kid so far but I'm in over my head. Too bad Clara and Gillian are not the ones standing here totally intimidated by the tears welling up in Luca’s bright eyes.
I'm so not cut out for serious kid talks, let alone a meltdown. If I was trying to comfort his mom or another adult, this is the part where I'd offer a hug though, so that's what I go with, opening my arms as wide as my sore shoulder will allow.
"You look like you could use a hug?" I say.
He nods, so I close the distance and wrap him in my arms.
"People can be mean jerks,” Luca says.
"No argument there, kiddo. For what it's worth, I can't fly either. Busted my wing and it never healed right. Makes it so there's some stuff I can't do in my human form too. Doesn't make either of us any less of a flock, do you know why?"
"Why?" He peers up at me with hope in his teary eyes.
"Because, flock isn't about the feathers you may or may not be wearing, it's about the people who love you and who you love. That's the best part about a chosen flock, you get to keep choosing each other, over and over and over again. No matter what anyone else thinks about it."
"And you're going to choose us?"
"Yeah, kiddo. I'm choosing you and your mom to be part of my flock. Not the entire flock, but the part I roost near. Is that alright?"
"Yeah. Mom's real lonely a lot. So it will be nice to have flock closer." Luca nods.
"Speaking of your mom getting lonely, I bet she's missing us and wondering what's taking so long to get our donuts, huh?"
"Oh, yeah. Donut day, almost forgot. Come on, Aunt Winny!
" The kid disentangles from my hug and uses one of his braces to push away from me and swing toward the diner's doorway with a delighted whoop.
I stumble a bit, since I wasn't ready to be his launchpad, but I keep my footing and I can't even be mad when he seems so much lighter.
All signs of his big emotional almost breakdown erased with the joyful smile of a kid about to get a plate full of sugary goodness.
"Hurry, before they run out of the maple bacon ones!" Luca calls back to me.
"Right behind you, watch where you're going." I laugh as I jog a few paces to catch up with him. The more popular flavors running out is a real danger. Or it would be if Clara hadn't already secured his coveted favorite.
I have to resist the impulse to grab the door for him when he fumbles a bit managing his braces and the handle.
I've spent enough time with the kid over the years to know that he isn't shy asking for help when he needs it, so the fact he isn't asking means helping today looks like being patient while he does the task on his own.
I can see what Clara meant about the new combination of therapy and meds helping him build his strength, it wasn't that long ago that he needed help with this door. Granted, he's also a growing kid and they all seem to change every time I turn around.
I glance around the vestibule as we step inside. There’s no trace of yesterday’s pheromone cloud and the air purifier isn’t running in the corner. As expected, Clara's already got a table when we walk inside.
The minute Luca sees her, he forgets all about me and makes a beeline for his mom.
And the plate of fresh donuts already waiting for him on her table.
I trail after him more slowly, giving them a second to exchange greetings.
Clara only has eyes for her kid right now.
I glance around, taking my sweet time as Clara all but preens her hatchling to be sure I've returned him without a feather out of place.
My eyes land on Harvey. Nothing unusual there.
I'm not sure how the old wolf finds enough hours in his day to be a steady presence at all of the pack businesses he manages, not to mention mentoring his strays, but he does it.
The part that grabs my notice and won't let go is the other shifter sitting in the vinyl booth across from him, going over the paperwork he's pointing to. That's not one of his strays.
Gillian. What is my girlfriend up to?
I want to go say hi. Kiss her in front of everyone all over again.
This time without a haze of pheromones driving me to push the bounds of acceptable public affection.
I want to ask what they're talking about.
Instead of butting into their paperwork, I wave at them.
Whatever Gillian is signing with the pen Harvey just handed her is completely not my business.
It also has her attention so fully that she doesn't seem to notice me.
Harvey makes eye contact, nodding back to me.
He gives me a knowing grin, eyes crinkling in amusement as he pats Gillian's hand and tips his chin toward me.
He murmurs something. The chromatophores around Gillian's eyes flush a deep fuschia at seeing me.
Huh. I'm not sure what that color means. Something good I hope.
"Hi," I wave again, approaching the table now that I've already interrupted them anyway.
"Hey, Winny. I must have lost track of time, how was your swim?" Gillian asks.
"Pool time is always good." I smile as I bend to kiss her cheek.
She flushes, chromatophores pretty in pink. Then she twists in her seat to scan the diner for anyone sitting alone and her brow furrows when she notices that the only shifter sitting alone is fully absorbed in their half-finished meal. "Is your friend here already?"
"Yep, Cora's right there with her son, want to join us and meet her after you finish with this?" I nod toward the duo and sweep my hand toward the paperwork spread over the table. I can't help noticing it's suspiciously similar to the standard lease template Clara emailed me yesterday.
"Oh. Oooooh!" Gillian's eyes widen and she glances from me to Harvey to Clara and back.
Her colors swirl through a rainbow of hues too fast for me to follow, before settling into a yellowish-orange anxious color spiked with hints of anticipatory teal.
She turns to face Harvey and asks, "Clara.
..as in, my potential new neighbor? Um, but you said… "
Harvey looks between us and bites his lip with dawning understanding. His eyes widen, like he just figured out something he'd rather not be the one to announce.
"Wait…Oooh. Oh, featherdust, treasure, you didn't tell me you found a place," I drawl as that makes the pieces tumble into place for me too.
"It's not a done deal yet, I was going to tell you after I meet the other shifter Clara promised the unit to.
No sense getting excited about anything if she and I aren't copacetic with being roomma—" Cora stops midword, gesturing between me and Clara.
She barks a laugh and shakes her head as a wry grin smooths the worry lines from her face and her chromatophores glow a pleased magenta. "Wait, you're here to meet Clara? No!"
Gillian’s protest is more amused disbelief than upset sounding, but still, my gut twists with nerves.
She can find the situation hilarious and still be upset that it messes with her housing plans.
I can't exactly back out of the arrangement after promising Luca I'm his flock for keeps.
More than that, I don't want to back out.
Gillian is delightful and I want to see where our newly fledged relationship can go, but this move is about claiming a place of my own. Space to grow and a flock to share it with. It's important. As important as her?
"It appears you've already met each other.
" Harvey coughs into his fist when we both turn to scowl at him.
He looks like he's choking on whatever words he's trying to swallow down.
Or maybe it's laughter, because his voice comes out contrite, but his eyes are still dancing with mirth as he slides out of the booth and gathers up the paperwork, tapping it into order on the table.
"Ah, I'll just go sit with Clara and let you two have a moment alone to discuss the benefits of the arrangement? "
"Not so fast. First you owe us answers." I sidestep to block his retreat and narrow my eyes at him. I don't put well-meaning meddling past the old alpha, but pulling strings to move us both into Clara's empty rental unit after seeing us on our first date crosses lines I've never known him to push.
"Fair enough, what do you want to know?" Harvey's expression softens with understanding.
"I just have one question to start. Did you know it was me Clara offered the apartment to when Gillian contacted you to ask about the second bedroom?" I ask.
Clara and I talked about whether I was cool with Harvey still renting the second room to his strays, and I agreed to that in the abstract, as long as I get some say about any potential roommates. I didn't expect that to happen before I even moved into the place though.