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Feeling his wings slowly pull away from my sides, I refused to open my eyes and watch. Dan's head drug down my chest as his body grew smaller. In the silence, I could only hear my heartbeat growing louder as the wave of cold washed over me. My head feeling heavy, I tried to breathe, but the sinking feeling reared its ugly face.

"Daniel?" Rylie's voice called, distant sounding.

Focusing on the voice, I tried to force my eyes open. Knowing what they would see, I couldn't help but deny it. Once the bright light filled my view again, I looked down towards my feet. Standing before me was a small bird; its green plumage contrasted with the shimmering purple around its head. The bird's head reared back, causing it to fall onto its side. I could see its tiny chest rising and falling with quick breaths. It stared at me with a look of fear.

"Dan, you alright?" Nash asked nervously.

The little bird quickly turned to him before returning its gaze to me. Its head flicked in lightning-quick motions. Just as quickly as its head moved, its wings began to flap. It flew towards the window, leaving the table in a swift, darting motion. In a direct line, it flew towards the closest window. A thud soon followed as the bird impacted the glass, its body falling to the carpeted ground below.

Nash ran to the bird before dropping to his knees. "Dan! Calm down!" His hands reached for the bird, who looked slightly dazed.

He's feral. The drug didn't work. My stomach sank when I thought of the pain he went through taking the pill.

The bird looked up to Nash before cocking its head to the side. Its tongue shot out quickly before it shook its head. Trying to step forward, it tripped on the carpet, falling onto its face.

"Woah there, little buddy, take it slowly now," Nash reassured the bird.

Rylie gasped and began to step closer, "Dan? Are you still there?" her voice cracked.

The little bird swiveled its head toward Rylie and made a rough nodding motion. It lifted a wing away from its body, looking over it with a single eye. The feathers shimmered green under the light, and quickly, the wing folded back to the side of the bird. Nash held a cupped hand down to the bird, and it carefully stepped into his hand, stumbling as Nash brought his hand close.

"Well, by god, that worked," Nash said in shock, "Dan's still here."

Nash stood up, holding Dan in his hand. I remained on the floor but tried my best to watch. With Dan's completion being a distraction, I felt unsafe on the ground with so many people stepping about. To stay safe, I stood under one of the barstools, away from the rest of the group. Everyone was in a mixture of surprise and happiness now that Dan had not only finished, but also seemed to be mentally in a similar spot as me.

After a while of everyone fawning at Dan, I could tell Alex was slightly uncomfortable. She gazed around the room before finally spotting me. She visibly sighed, carefully stepped away from the group, and sat on the floor next to me.

"Is that how it was for you?" her voice sounded worried.

I shook my head, remembering the day I finished. Wasting no time before I left for the trees, leaving my friends to wonder what I was.

"Rylie told me a little about you. I can't imagine what it would be like to be brought back into all of this." Her hand motioned toward the group. "This world isn't built for people like us. Birds like us." She placed a hand on my back and stroked, "I think I get why you want to go back. I don't know if I'm making the right choice, honestly. I trust Elizabeth, but is it living to be only slightly more than a pet?"

I leaned my head into her hand.

"I thought I wanted to be like you, keeping your wits and living as a bird. The deed is done, but I don't know if I can live like that. Maybe it would have been better not to interfere and let nature take its course on me." Her voice cracked, "Maybe I wouldn't feel so alone out there."

She pulled her hand back and tucked it against her side.

"Maybe it'll be different when I'm done. Who knows, I could end up liking it. Has to be better than this, right?" She held her arms out and put on a fake smile. Rylie pulled away from the group and quietly walked towards us.

"You alright, Alex?" Rylie said before climbing down to her knees. "Don't lie to me. I know you too well." Rylie winked before nudging at Alex's folded arm.

"It's just a lot. Now that Dan is..." Alex paused.

"Daniel is going to be fine. I think the attention is growing on him now. Plus, Lyall turned out... He's doing alright." Rylie smiled at me. "No matter what you decide to do, we will be with you every step of the way." Rylie placed her arms around the owl; Alex, in turn, dug her face into Rylie's feathers. "Why don't we go sit on the couch? No reason to sit on the ground." Rylie began to guide Alex up and waved for me to follow.

Following regular height humans felt different when you were as short as me. Watching everyone pass while in fear of accidentally being kicked or stepped on is not exactly a comfortable experience for a bird. Alex and Rylie took seats on the couch, and Rylie waved for me to join them. With a few hard flaps, I approached the crouch and brought my feet to the seat's height. It wasn't the quietest action, drawing a few looks from Nash and the others. The room wasn't built for someone my size; I had to make do.

Alex was still pretty shaken. She did her best to avoid looking in Dan's direction, all while most everyone else was busy with him. Even watching Dan myself, I could tell from his body language that he was uncomfortable. He had to deal with not only the effects of the changes but also everyone's excitement or, rather, support of him.

"I wish I could go back and stop myself," Alex whispered to Rylie. "I don't know if I can handle being... me in the owl's body."

Rylie sighed, "You'll be alright. I promise you'll be okay." Rylie tried to comfort Alex, but even she seemed unsure.

"What if I feel like I did when I took the pill? I could feel everything; I was over-aware of everything. I had no control over my own body, and I couldn't even close my feet right!" Alex quickly began to get herself worked up, her breathing picking up as she lifted her arms away from her side slightly.

"Alex, it's not going to be like that. Lyall can attest to it; hell, he was flying immediately after." Rylie pulled Alex close.

"I don't want to fly. I just want to be me." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

"That's not what I meant, Alex. You'll still be you, and it'll still feel like you, I promise." Rylie looked over at me with a worried gaze. I shrugged with a slight nod.

Nash walked over to me and held his arm out, "Come here, someone wants to see ya."

I climbed onto the cardinal hybrid's arm with a gentle grasp, and he walked me to the high-top table. His arm held me close, and with a small leap, my feet were on the table. Matti held his hand close to his chest, his other hand blocking what was in his palm. With a smooth, slow motion, he brought his hand down to the table and covered it. The little hummingbird stood, staring at me curiously. Its head cocked to the side before it took a few slow steps closer.

"He isn't gonna hurt ya," Nash joked and motioned for the bird to move closer.

I was uneasy seeing him like this. Although we were similar, seeing it happening to another person was so different. I could tell by the movements and language that it was undoubtedly Dan. I leaned down towards the small bird, and he stopped. To him, I was a giant monster compared to the small bird he had known me as before. With each little step, he inched closer until he was on the cusp of touching my feathers.

I didn't know what to expect, but he quickly buried his head in my lower belly's feathers. Looking at Matti, Nash, and Shelby, I expected some sort of direction. Instead, they all just watched as Dan closed his eyes and rested his head. I lowered my head and slightly bent forward. Dan adjusted to keep his head held tight against my body. Pushing my head against his body, I gave the closest thing to a hug I could to give such a tiny bird. Pressing against him, I felt his body trembling.

He was scared. I couldn't think of what to do, so instead, I stood still. My eyes glanced around at everyone watching us. I couldn't tell if they were waiting for me to do something profound, but I couldn't do anything. Alex's eye glanced down at the hummingbird before me and closed her eyes. Her face became a light red before tears leaked from the edges of her eyes. She quickly turned around to hide her face, but almost everyone had seen it.

I glanced over to Nash, who could only shrug. Most of us had experienced someone's changes finishing, but even when my changes were completed, I left for the sky. When Damien finished, he was taken away, and Benji left on his own. This was the first time that someone was obviously still here. I thought I could relate to Dan, but instead, I was just as lost as everyone else.

The little bird's face pulled out from my feathers, and he glanced up at me. Dan gave a little nod before stepping back, tripping over his own feet and tail. He looked around before his eyes met with mine again. He offered a few quick and confident nods. I tried my best to smile with my hard beak, but my unchanging face gave no visible emotions.

Nash's eyes lit up, and he quickly left the room. I tried to keep Dan's mind occupied, and I slowly unfolded my wings. I held both wings far away from my body, giving a clear view of my full wingspan. In a quick movement, Dan's wings flung to their open position, showing his tiny, narrow wings. I could hear the chuckling from the group before Dan's head tilted.

Nash came back into the room with a small cup of slightly yellowed fluid. He placed the small cup down, and it was no larger than a communion glass. Dan looked at it curiously before taking a few steps closer and dipping his beak into the cup. From what little I knew of hummingbirds, their bodies required a more consistent stream of food rather than my long delays between meals—just another extreme difference between birds and humans. Dan finished and looked up at me, his head cocking to one side while his little tongue flicked out of his beak. Before, Dan would ask the questions and take a simple response from me, but now neither could speak.

He diverted his gaze away from me and stared at the closed window. I couldn't tell if he was longing for the outside or if he was fearful of it. Soon, he would have to make the choice of what his life would be. He could live embracing the change like me or Eli. The alternative would be to live in captivity or with another person, like Alex. As far as I knew, Dan ignored when these questions came about, pretending like they would never come to fruition.

I could tell Dan was stressed by all of the attention. He couldn't stay still, and his head darted from looking at himself to the others. Stepping closer to him, I wrapped my right wing around him and pulled him close, practically wedging him between my body and folded wing. I tried to gesture for everyone to disperse with my head, but I could not get my point across without words. Eventually, Shelby and Mattie made their way to the couches. Both looked blank as they quietly walked away.

Nash leaned in closer to me and whispered, "Do you need me to take him?" I shook my head but began to lighten my grasp on Dan. Once I opened my wing, Dan stepped back and, upon seeing Nash, walked over and jumped into his palm. Rylie and I watched Nash carry Dan up the stairs quietly. It took me a moment to notice Alex standing behind me. She held what remained of her wings out and began to breathe heavily.

Turning to look at the owl, her hands began to shake, and her fingers began to meld into one another. She let out a fast, panicked huff as she lifted her arms out and flapped them down with force, blowing a strong gale against me. Her face looked horrified as she let out a shriek.

"AHHHH!" Her arms now looked like proper wings as any sign of fingers were long gone, replaced by more finely layered feathers. "No! No! Not now!" She shouted before pulling her arms tight, her wings folding neatly to her sides as her head darted to look at her new wings. Just as quickly as she tucked them, she opened them partially, trying to move them like hands.

"Relax! Relax, Alex!" Rylie tried to assure her, but Alex didn't seem to hear it. "Just think of your hands. Think of holding something and gripping it with your fingers."

Alex's yellow eyes closed, and her foot lifted before closing tightly. "I can't remember it! I can't see them, just these damned talons!" Her shouting turned into a sob, her wings slouching as seconds passed, then minutes. Every moment was getting closer to losing her hands forever. "Whenever I try to remember, I... I can't think of them. They are gone..."

Rylie rubbed her face with her hands, sighing loudly.

"Rylie, remember what I said the other night?" Alex's voice cracked.

"Yeah, I do."

Alex pulled her wings tightly to her side. "That's the last one. It's me now, isn't it?"

Rylie could only nod. Her eyes began to water before they shot closed.

Alex's wings were now permanent. She was ever inching closer to her final changes.