The Hawk
Layla West spends her days in the city library. She had been here for the last few years since she graduated college and she couldn't see herself being anywhere else, nor would she want to be. Her love has always been books and always will be. Often she can't help but feel lonely because in this world of books there is little time for anyone else- not even pets. Even when she was attending college she kept to herself, much to the harassment of her peers, and rarely ventured further than her classrooms or her dorm. She scheduled phone calls with her parents, always being precise and formal, just like she was with other people.
She thought she was happy. She had acquired the job she had always wanted as a librarian and she could surround herself with her passion. Unfortunately, she still felt lonely. As of late, there was something that appeased that feeling, something that made her look forward to going home-a strikingly gorgeous hawk which had seemed to make his home in the tree close to the ledge of her balcony.
It was almost a myth to hear of hawks or birds of prey in this city and to have one on her balcony when she arrived at her apartment had nearly caused her to leave the building screaming after she caught a glimpse of it spreading its enormous wings against the backlight of the city. But somehow sense had taken hold of her as she moved cautiously to the window. She could see that it had recently hunted, as blood was dripping from his talons and his beaks, which made her gut clenched like an iron fist.
She was just reaching into her pocket to call for animal control before it could hurt anything or anybody, but just before she brought the phone up to her ear, something stopped her. She had taken a glimpse into its eyes and something had made her freeze. They looked so full of depth that she felt like she could fall in if she didn't avert her own gaze. And with that, she placed the phone back down. Nearly every night since then, her companion would be perched on the balcony when she arrived home as it peered into her window.
But one night he wasn't there when she came home. Then he wasn't there the next day, either. She couldn't help but worry while she worked and it seemed like every shadow in the air or every flutter of wings had her almost fighting to see if it was her hawk. But it never was.
On the third day since he disappeared, she had hoped with all of her might that he would be sitting in his usual place, waiting for her to come home. But when she opened her door, her heart sank. He was there, but instead of being perched in his prideful way, he lay cluttered in a pool of blood on the ground of her living room, having apparently broken through the glass door. He was cut to pieces and she could just barely see his chest pushing and pulling, straining to breathe.
Worry overcame her, throwing any sort of caution away, as she ran to grab a towel and carefully gathered her fallen hawk up. He seemed to react a little bit, but otherwise was completely oblivious to the world. She could only fear that he had lost too much blood. She took him into the bathroom and very carefully as to not be caught by his fearsome talons, cleaned his wounds and bandaged them as best as she knew how. Looking over him, she noticed that the majority of his wounds were somehow not caused by the glass, but more like something had been slashing at him as he had deep ribbons cut into his flesh and a very nasty looking one across the bridge of his beak.
She still treated his wounds as best as she knew how and laid him covered on one side of her couch. She sat down on a nearby chair, watching the poor hawk gasp raggedly for every breath. She was worried that if she took him to a vet that they would just put him down or at the very least, take him from her and put it in a sanctuary where she would never see it again. Either way, she couldn't live with herself if she took her hawk for help and they were to end his life or keep it from her.
Even through all her worries she somehow fell asleep in her chair curled up. Her dreams were racked with images of grief and death and all she could feel in her mind was worry. When her eyes opened slowly at dawn it took her a moment to grasp her awareness of the room. She slowly gazed over to the bloody towel that had once wrapped the hawk, but instead of her feathered friend lying broken, in its place was a naked man.
As soon as she realized that it was, in fact, real, she screamed with alarm, tipping over the chair with the force of her fright, before sprinting and shrieking towards her phone. After she grabbed it, she ducked behind her kitchen counter, waiting to see what the stranger would do. After a few moments of silence, she realized that the man meant her no harm and all she heard was his ragged breathing.
Carefully peeking into the room, she saw that he had not moved. Layla began to dial the police for help, but curiosity overcame her and before long she was standing cautiously above the man. The first thing she noticed was that he was covered in barely healed injuries across his body and covered in slashes and deep gashes on virtually every part of his person. But the one that caught her attention was the line that cut across the bridge of his nose. She suspected there would always be a scar there.
As she was inspecting the man, she heard the voice of a person on the phone asking if everything was alright. As she was bringing the receiver up to her ear to ask for help, she saw the man's eyes looking at her and she froze. Seeing his gaze she could only think of her hawk's eyes. Against all of her better judgment, she answered that the call was an accident, hung the phone up and sat down in her chair as the two stared at each other. The man did not speak. He only stared at her with those deep, dark eyes of his.
For the first time in her life she did all the talking. At first she only sat there and spoke, telling him about his injuries. Then, she talked about what was happening, asking him if he knew anything. He only sat and stared. Before long she was telling him everything about her life. Over the next couple of days, the man would lie on her couch as she tended to his wounds. He listened to what she said and nodded when she asked him a question. His eyes were always on her. For some reason, despite him never giving her more than the shake of his head, she felt like she could trust him. It was like his eyes held everything she could ever want to talk about.
After a while she would return home and see him moving around and looking out across the balcony. Even after so long, his wounds still made him walk when he limped and you could see the pain in those deep eyes of his, but never did his face ever give anything away. It worried her to see him moving around more because she was afraid that eventually he would leave and then she would be alone again.
Her thoughts often went to that of her hawk during those times, wondering where it was or what had happened. She wondered why this man was here when she woke instead of her hawk. She often wondered if the man was, in fact, her hawk or if she was in a dream. Both seemed like nonsense so she often cast them aside. However, these thoughts still came as often as they left.
Several weeks passed before his wounds were finally healed. One day, she returned home from work to find him standing on the balcony where he often did, looking out across the cityscape. However, this time was different. This time when she entered, he turned and looked at her for a moment. He began to speak to her in the most majestic voice she had ever heard. He said that he had to leave and that he would explain everything when he returned. In the blink of an eye, her stranger was not there anymore and her hawk was in the air, soaring downwards and to the beyond. It took her a few minutes of standing there to realize what had happened. But instead of being alarmed, she simply sat in her chair where she had met the man and waited.
Before long, the hawk returned. Like before, in a moments flash, he was a man again. She sat for the longest time, their eyes meeting, before she asked what he was. He said simply that he was a skin changer and that this city had always been his family's rightful land. He explained that he had traveled great distances and had many dreams of her during his journey and of the balcony where he so liked to spend his time. He said that he was afraid to show her who he really was because he feared how she may react. Yet he knew that she was the person he was meant to meet and the one that he was destined to be with.
He also explained that when he arrived, there was another in the city, the city that should be his by rights. The other was a mighty beast, almost a legend among their own people. He said that he often wondered if should just leave and give up his rights. However, leaving the city meant also leaving her. He knew that he could not bear to leave her and he could not leave his dreams. He told her he had met the beast and challenged him and after a vicious fight that nearly killed him, he had won. He then looked at her and asked if she would be with him. He asked if she would stay with him because he had fought and won the right to be with her. It took her only a moment, but that was all that she needed. She said the only answer that was right to her: yes.
Chapters
Chapter 1: Layla is lonely although she enjoys her book and meets the hawk.
Chapter 2: The hawk becomes something special to Layla and she looks forward to seeing him each day. However, for several days he is not there and she begins to worry.
Chapter 3: Layla comes home to find the hawk wounded and tries to help his wounds. When she awakes she sees a strange man and the hawk is gone.
Chapter 4: Layla and the strange man become close and she finds a companion who she can talk to and kill her loneliness with. One day, the man changes before her eyes into a hawk.
Chapter 5: When the hawk comes back he changes again and explains his story to Layla and what is going on. They recognize their feelings and decide to be together.
Characters
Layla Bradshaw
Age: 27, librarian. Light brown hair and blue eyes.
The Hawk
Age: Unknown, skin changer/shape shifter. Dark brown hair and eyes, tan skin. Handsome and well-built.