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Upon seeing the van, I quickly grew excited. My heart began to race, and I paced around my cage. I felt myself lose control as I opened my beak and let out a happy screech. Upon hearing this, I took back control and tried to calm myself. Usually, I could stay in control and prevent outbursts like that. Oddly, I had no warning, but I figured it was just a fluke of the excitement.

Elizabeth came through the far side door, carefully closing it behind herself. She walked towards me, but stopped by a cabinet first. She removed the large leather glove from the cabinet and slid it onto her hand. Undoing my cage door, she held her arm out for me. The hawk in the back of my mind resisted, but I pushed through and stepped onto her arm.

"Sounds like you already know who is here, don't you?" Elizabeth said with a simile. She walked us closer to the door but stopped midway by the desk. She lowered her arm to its surface, and I hopped down. She slid the towel over from the other side of the table next to me. "In case you want to lay down again. I'll be right back." She took off the leather glove and then walked out of the room. I stood on the towel and tried to keep myself from pacing. I could feel the hawk pushing for influence in the back of my mind, but I continued to resist it.

I could hear talking from behind the door. I couldn't help but imagine who all came to reunite with me. Matthew, Rylie, Westin, Jeremy, and Nash were the people I had missed the most. I had so much to tell them. I didn't know where to begin, but I knew they would want to hear all I had done.

The door slowly opened as Elizabeth walked back in, and a familiar head of red feathers trailed behind her. It was undoubtedly Nash, although he had changed more since I last saw him in the field. His arms were still arms, but they were covered in a blanket of red feathers. Hanging behind him was a matching tail and his legs were covered in dry, scaly skin.

My heart started to race again as I lifted my head and let out another loud screech. My vision quickly faded as I stopped vocalizing. I couldn't tell how long before it came back, but I could hear Nash's voice calling for me. "Lyall! It's been too long, buddy. Lyall?" Nash's excited voice turned to slight confusion. I forced myself into control again, shoving the hawk further back once more. With my vision restored, I could see Nash was standing in front of me. I quickly nodded my head up and down, reassuring him I was there.

Nash laughed and reached a hand towards me. The hawk immediately wanted to bite out of self-defense, but I quickly forced it back into my mind. Nash's hand stroked the back of my neck, then moved on to my back. "Looks like you got a little banged up, eh?" Nash joked as his hand moved away from my back. "The others wanted to see you, but with things going the way they are, Rylie and Matthew figured they should stay at the house for now. Westin's out on a trip, but he should be back in a few days. None of us expected to... well, see you again." Nash's voice quickly turned apologetic, "Not that we didn't want to, don't get me wrong, but this hasn't ever happened before. I... should have come out to see you earlier." His voice grew quiet, his hand falling to his side.

Trying to get his attention, I bobbed my head. I tapped my beak against the metal table surface when that didn't work. Nash's head looked up, and he shook his head. "I know you'd probably be saying not to worry, but I do. I wish Jeremy knew you were still out there. I'm sure he knew it, though."

I felt a pit in my stomach as Nash spoke of Jeremy. When Jeremy first lost his voice, it changed a lot about him. I had always felt bad for Jeremy not being able to talk directly with the rest of us. But he still managed to keep going without words. Ironic now that I was in a similar spot. I could make the natural sounds of a hawk, but I couldn't begin to form any words. Nash tried to smile the best he could, "He did exactly what he said he wanted to do. I was there with him when he finished changing at the golf course. He didn't fight it. He was ready. Hell, he was even excited to do it." Nash chuckled, "As much as Matthew butted heads with him, it was one of the few times I saw Matthew cry. Yours being another time."

Although only a little over a year had passed, it felt like an eternity since I last saw Nash. But the way he spoke, you would imagine I had never left. "By the way," he explained, "they changed the house's name. However, trading one cheesy name for another was pretty on par with the group."

"You know, I could always see about bringing you back to the house to visit. Alex and I are on pretty good terms. I'm sure I could call in a favor for you." Nash winked at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth shrugged, "If Alex likes your home, I'm sure we can work something out."

"As much as Alex talks about you, I still can't believe we haven't met." Nash told Elizabeth, "She's lucky to have you. I don't know what she would do without you." Nash continued.

I was left confused by Nash and Elizabeth's conversation. I knew Nash could be a talker, but it was hard to think their phone call was long enough for them to be speaking like this. While pondering this, the door swung open again as Alex walked in.

"Speak of the devil!" Nash exclaimed, holding his arms out to Alex. Alex had a massive smile as she hugged Nash. "Thanks for finding the poor guy. Think I may grab him and run for the hills." Nash joked, acting like he was going to grab me. "How have they been doing?" He asked, "I can't tell they are even there."

Alex laughed, "I've been trying the stuff you suggested. They seem to have calmed down. Haven't seen any new ones in weeks." Alex stretched her arms out. "Take a look!" She lifted her shirt, revealing white feathers with black tips covering her chest and belly. Nash nodded his head with a smile, "See, I told ya. You can handle them. Sometimes it takes a little time to put them in their place." Nash said as he lightly touched the feathers. "The colors do look great on you, though. You don't have any reason to hide them. That is if the shirt is bothering you."

Slowly, I put together what was happening. Somehow, I never noticed that Alex had feathers, although I never had an opportunity to see any skin besides her arms and face. Her shirt was baggy enough to hide their existence. I couldn't tell what they were feathers from, but they were a bright white, with just the tips being a darker black. The black tips formed little curves with the edges pointing upwards toward her head.

Alex gestured toward me, "If Lyall is anything to go by, maybe changing isn't such a bad thing." She stepped closer, but fear began to grip me as I felt the hawk starting to take control. Alex reached out, and I nipped at her hand without a second thought. She pulled the hand back as I missed my bite and gave me a confused look, "Did I do something wrong?" She turned to ask Nash.

I shook my head quickly as control came back to me. It felt like I might have done something the hawk didn't like. He tried harder to take control, but I kept forcing him back. Each attempt seemed to work less and less.

Nash shrugged, "Maybe taking him to the house could help him. Seeing some of his old friends and getting him grounded as a human again." Nash turned to Elizabeth, who shrugged, "As long as you keep him in the cage while outside, he should be fine." Alex gave a smile as she quickly ran out of the room. She had a plastic cage and another long, leather glove when she returned. Using the glove, she led me into the cage. This cage felt more closed in than the cage I had been living in. When the door shut and latched, Nash peeked in and gave it a soft smack, "They're gonna be happy to see you, Lyall."

The cage was lifted from the table and roughly carried by Nash. The large size of the cage and Nash's smaller stature didn't help the smoothness of the trip out to the van. Once outside, I was finally able to get a look at the clinic's exterior. It looked more like a cabin than a medical building. Not sure why I expected a lab or hospital. This place was much less formal than a human hospital, enough that the parking lot was half dirt and half gravel to the rural road it was situated on.

Nash set the cage down and opened the sliding door. He carefully placed my cage on the back passenger seat and tried to wrap the belt around the cage. When that failed, he pulled the armrests down to wedge the cage into the chair. The drive was mildly rough. Since the cage was tightly held, I felt even the most minor road bumps. The drive lasted long enough for me to lose track of time, but it had to be at least half an hour on the road. I couldn't see much beyond the sky and treetops from my cage, but everything felt oddly nostalgic to my previous car rides.

As the van came to a stop, Nash and Alex exited and opened the side door. Nash pulled my cage from the seat, and I got my first glance at the house I had spent so much time in. It looked essentially the same as before, but now a sign hung on the front door with large text reading "The Bird House." I was happy to see they did use the name I recommended. No matter how terrible it was, it was better than the old name.

Nash carried me to the door, knocking the cage against a few things along the way. He was struggling with its size, but eventually, we reached the door. As the door swung open, Nash yelled, "I brought a surprise for y'all!" I excitedly watched for any familiar faces, but the first one I saw was no one I had seen before. He was an average-sized man with a darker complexion. He looked normal for a human from the chest down, but his head was entirely changed to a bird's. The top of his head was gray, while under his beak was white. His jet-black beak blended perfectly with the black stripe of feathers going past his eyes, separating the white and gray feathers. The man walked closer and spoke with a rough and forced voice, "What's this?"

"Nash held the cage up higher and proudly exclaimed, "This is Lyall. About a year ago, he called this place home!"

Surprised, the man pulled his head back, "Hawk, that had my room?" His voice sounded harsh, and he slowly spoke.

"This is him! Never thought I would say it, but he remembers us and the house." Nash walked me to the table by the couches and opened the cage door. I slowly walked out onto the table as another person ran closer. This one seemed much more familiar. The figure was almost entirely a bird with dark gray feathers covering her back with white and black further peppering her chest. She was unmistakably a Peregrine Falcon.

Rylie's wings were tucked to her side as the patter of her bright yellow, clawed feet slapped on the wood floor. She let out an audible gasp once she saw me, "Nash?! You brought him back here?" She shouted, "You can't just... you know, with Matthew..." She shook her head before turning to look at me, "So, it's actually you, Lyall?" I nodded my head and gave a little bob. "We thought you were gone. I guess you just had to be different, though, didn't ya?" She unfolded a wing revealing a hand. Reaching out, she stroked the feathers on my head. "God, I wish you could tell me what it's like." She used her whole hand to pet my head, and her eyes started to water. "We were the predators of the house. The rat eaters." Her voice broke as she talked, "Damn, I missed you." She pulled her hand away and wiped her face.

Down the stairs came a quick rapid thumping of feet. I looked just in time to see a woman round the end of the stairs. At first, she seemed completely normal until a large group of white and yellow feathers lifted and leaned forward from her head. She started walking closer, and the feathers fell back against the top of her head. "What's going on?" She asked, nervously walking closer. Once her eyes met mine, her feathered crest flattened smooth against her head. "Is...that him?" She stammered. I nodded to her, and she gave me a shocked look.

Nash quickly jumped in, "So I guess we all need introductions. This is Matthias and Shelby. Matti is a Loggerhead Shrike, and Shelby is a Sulpher Crested Cockatoo." Nash pointed to Matti and Shelby before pointing at me, "And this is Lyall, former human and current Red-Tailed Hawk. Of course, you all have met Alex at some point." Nash nodded toward Alex before looking around the room, "I haven't seen Daniel today, but he is here somewhere, I think."

Shelby cleared her throat before speaking, "Dan went out about an hour ago. Didn't say where he went." Nash started talking to Shelby quietly. I didn't pay much attention to them as I looked around the room. Seeing the group was odd, with some of the faces I knew missing. The new faces seemed so different. Although I felt at home, I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding.

I could walk about on the table, but the number of eyes on me made me nervous. I was watched closely by the newer members of the house, Matti especially. His head tilted and pulled back slightly. His beak opened to speak in his hoarse voice, "Both predators, yeah?" His words were kept short and punchy, sounding like speaking was a chore for him. "Voice weak. Hurts to speak." He cleared his throat before rubbing his neck with his right hand. Nash noticed Matti trying to speak and stepped in, "Matti's vocal cords are in between right now. He can speak, but as you can tell, he tends to stay quiet." Nash put a hand on Matti's shoulder.

I nodded, trying to show I was understanding. The front door clicked as it swung open. Nash looked surprised as yet another bird stepped in. His face was surrounded by feathers, with a few on his arms. The feathers on his face were bright, iridescent pink that shone in the sunlight. His arm feathers, while few, were a striking green. His feathers looked almost like mirrors due to how much light reflected off them. Immediately, his eyes met with mine, and he froze in place. "What's that?" The bright bird asked with a disgusted tone.

"This is Lyall, and he used to be a resident here," Nash answered happily. "Lyall, this is Daniel. He's our resident hummingbird."

Dan's eyes widened in a fake shock. "Why are we bringing animals into the house? Bad enough we're being screwed over. No sense in rubbing it in." Without hesitation, he began to jog up the stairs. A door could be heard closing shortly after.

"Bah, let him be. He'll come around to you eventually." Nash laughed before patting my back. I jumped in surprise, and immediately, the hawk wanted to bite at Nash's hand. I was able to resist the urge, but only just. My beak still opened and swung back near Nash's hand.

"Oh, sorry, should have warned ya," Nash apologized, pulling his feathered hand back. I immediately felt terrible as I never wanted to make the lunge at Nash, but it was getting seemingly more challenging to fight the immediate urges of the hawk. I was unsure if it was due to the rapid change of scenery, or if I was possibly losing my ability to hold it back.

Everyone began conversing, and I tried to nod and move in response to them. Still, my lack of input made it impossible to be genuinely involved in the discussions. Sometimes they would make sure to acknowledge me, but I had no input I could verbally give to topics. It wasn't until I was asked questions that I could even attempt to talk back.

"Did it feel different? Or did it come naturally?" Shelby asked. Nash quickly tried to tell her about the yes and no answers, but I interrupted him with a squawk. I pressed my beak against the table and made my best attempt at a "B" drawing with my beak. Shelby looked confused as I moved to attempt an "O" in the same manner. This was followed shortly by "T" and "H." Shelby's eyes grew huge when she finally understood what I was trying to do. She ran out of the room before returning with a beaten cardboard box.

Shelby threw the box onto the table and ripped the lid off. The top of the box read "Ouji." She pulled a rough cardboard panel and a plastic triangle out of the box. The board had all of the letters of the alphabet, along with the numbers one through ten, and a simple "yes" and "no." I didn't pick up on her idea until she began to slide the triangle around. She spelled out "BOTH" by moving the triangle over each letter one at a time.

She then slid the triangle to me. I pressed my beak against it and tried to slide it across the surface. It took multiple tries, but eventually, I could spell out "HAWK." Shelby clapped to herself, and her crest rose tall, revealing her yellow feathers again. "You can use that to talk now!" I quickly nodded in agreement. Even though speaking with this method would be helpful, it would be incredibly slow for anything beyond a word or two from here to there.

Shelby crouched down onto her knees to bring her head to a similar height to mine. "Where did you live?" She asked, to which I began to drag the triangle around the board slowly. "FIELD."

"Were you alone?" She asked, but Nash tried to step in. I quickly slid the triangle to "No" on the board.

"Was it a friend?" She asked as she leaned closer. Her head feather stood high in the air, blocking a few others' views. I continued to slide the piece around. "MATE" was spelled before I let go of the triangle.

Shelby's feathers fell back and laid flat against her scalp. "You found a mate?" She asked, still in surprise. I simply nodded my head. Nash stepped in and interrupted, "Let's talk about something else, shall we?" I looked over and saw Alex's face turning a light red. I quickly turned to move my face away from her, but I think she still noticed. The room became awkwardly silent after Nash jumped in. Rylie spoke first, "We are glad you are doing good, Lyall. Hopefully, Alex and Elizabeth can heal your wing, and you can get back to her." Rylie seemed like she was trying to poke at Nash with her phrasing. This was only confirmed by her wink in his direction. "There is no sense in hiding reality."

Shelby waited for Rylie to finish speaking before asking, "Do you want me to wake Matthew up? He was up all night with something going on. He's been up and down all day."

I looked at Shelby before looking to see Rylie's expression. She stretched at her arm before sighing, "Maybe tomorrow would be better? Nash didn't want him to know you were coming tonight. I'll talk to him in the morning about it." Rylie stepped closer and stooped down at the table. She brought a wing out and put it around my small body, pulling me in close. "We've missed you, Lyall. It was great to see you again."

Alex looked at her phone before sighing, "Well, we ought to get you back to the clinic. You're going to need your pain meds if you want to stay cheerful." I was surprised to hear about any mention of drugs, but it would make sense with how I have felt, and maybe this was why I was struggling to control the hawk. We all said our goodbyes, and Nash drove Alex and I back to the clinic. Once I was placed in my cage, Nash and Alex left the room. With their proximity to the door, I could still hear some bits of their conversation.

I tried to understand what was said, but only some came through. All I could tell was that Alex was afraid of the change. I never picked up on a reason, but she was indeed scared. I think she may be in a similar place to where I was when I started changing. But now, I wasn't afraid, or so I thought.

I laid my head on the towel-covered floor as the lights in the building slowly cut out. I slowly drifted off to sleep in my little cage.

I found myself lying on a blanket of feathers. Not white feathers, but the same golden brown feathers that covered most of my body. But when I looked at my arms, they were human again. The blue sky above me slowly turned darker, and I felt myself sink into the blanket. I held my arms out and pressed them against the feathers, trying to keep myself above the hole. That worked, but slowly, my arms began to feel fatigued, and I resumed sinking. As I slipped into the feathers, my mind became fuzzy. I had trouble remembering things about myself as new thoughts flooded in. The new thoughts were a little bit of fear and a little bit of hunger as they consumed my head. I couldn't remember why I had human arms or why I was fighting it.

A human hand offered me a mouse, which I grabbed with my beak. The mouse was unmoving and cold, as it had been many times before. But it was available, so I paid no attention to it. The hand's voice spoke, but I ignored it as best as I could. The voice was persistent, though, and continued to talk to me.

"Lyall..." the voice spoke. As the words were said, I felt something in the back of my mind.

"Lyall? You alright?" The voice said louder.

Like a flash, it all came back to me. I found myself standing at the table like I had for many mornings. The cold, dead mouse was held in my talons, and I looked up to Alex, who looked confused. I wasn't sleeping, but up until now, I wasn't in control of myself.

I had fully lost myself to the hawk.