The following morning dawned bright and cold, the fresh breeze rustling through the branches of the campus’ many trees. It sounded like the gentle cresting of waves on the shore.

What a lovely morning,” I whispered. “Ruth, wake up. It’s so pretty outside.”

“Hm?” said Ruth. “Did a sparrow get in here? I hear chirping. Oh wait, a bird did get in here.” She laughed. Then she stopped abruptly.

What is the matter?”

Ruth threw her covers off, rolled out of the bed and landed on the floor in a three-point stance. She jumped to her feet and grabbed my hands. “Rani. Say something.”

Something.”

A look of horror came over Ruth’s face. “Oh no. Oh no no no no no.” She dashed to the closet, yanked out her robe, threw it on, and then dashed to the door and was out of the room before I could say another word.

I heard the slam of a door outside, and ran to the window. There was Ruth running across the quad, faster than her normal clip despite her complete lack of footwear, straight toward the Morrow lab. Fetching the Professor, perhaps? But she could have taken me along. What was she up to? What happened to “to the end”?

I waited in my room for a while. Might as well stay where she was sure to find me, now that I couldn’t exactly – wait a minute, I could still use my phone couldn’t I? I grabbed it off the table and frantically tapped out a text to Ruth. 

 

What exactly are you doing?

 

                                     Well, I just solved the problem of how
                                                           you’ll be able to communicate with me.

 

                                     Wait. So did you, just now. Whoops.
                                     Ha ha. Silly me. D’oh. Ain’t I a stinker. 

 

What did you DO?

 

                                     You’re, uh, going to find out when I
                                     get back to you. 

 

RUTH WHAT DID YOU DO

 

                                     Fulfilled my vow as I saw fit. Look
                                     out the window.

 

I looked out the window. There was Ruth down on the quad, surrounded by birds, some of whom were alighting on her hand and arm. She giggled, and then chirped something I couldn’t make out. All the birds flew away.

Oh. Shit.

I threw open the dorm room door and ran pell-mell down the hall, down the stairs, out the hall door with a bang. There was Ruth, looking sheepish. I had the sinking feeling that she was going to be looking like something else very soon. 

And then she chirped, “Hey there, dearest. President of birds. Oddest medical case the university has ever seen. Well, at least you’re not alone anymore.”

I put my hands on her shoulders and shook her. “Are you insane! Now you’re in the same boat as me! Now we’re both sinking! You were terrified of what  had just happened to me and you decided to take a flying leap right into it? What has gotten into you?”

Ruth grabbed my wrists. “To the end, I said. To the end! I promised to stay with you. I will follow you wherever you go!”

Even into potential death? Even into life stuck as a little bird forever?”

Ruth looked me dead in the eye. “Yes.”

I slumped in defeat. “You ARE insane, road runner.”

I am in love. It can make one prone to doing stupid things. In this case, I was desperate for you to be able to communicate with me, and I didn’t think about written forms until after I’d dropped a bit of the bird solution on my wrist. In my defense, I was indeed terrified. I was not thinking straight. Not that I do that very often, ha ha ha. Ha.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, you might lose the ability to grasp objects, so maybe this was a good idea?”

And if I need you to be able to communicate with other people for me, soon enough you won’t be able to do it. You’re going to be stuck talking to me and the birds.”

Ruth scoffed, and crossed her arms. “Who would I want to talk to anyway?”

Your parents, your siblings, your relatives, your friends, the guy at the bodega…”

Fair point. Fortunately I should have a few weeks before that point. I only put a couple drops on my wrist. I’m fine for right now.”

I glanced at her neck. There were brown-and-white-speckled feathers growing from it already. “You sure about that?”

Let’s pretend I am. We should get going on prepping for our journey. Scraping up enough cash for gas, buying snacks for the car –”

Or we could just fly. I just flew in from Wyomaho and boy are my arms tired.”

We both laughed at that. Then I looked around. There were a dozen people on the quad, all of them staring in various looks of shock. Well, I had just made myself look like an even weirder furry, hadn’t I? Along with Ruth. I cringed in sheer embarrassment.

Ruth put an arm over my shoulder and led me toward the dorm. “Come on, let’s get you away from prying eyes. We might as well get dressed for the day.”





“Let me get this straight,” said Professor Windsor, not turning around in their chair. “You barged into the lab in broad daylight, broke open a secure cabinet, grabbed a solution that had proved hazardous, and used it on yourself, all so you could fulfill a promise?”

“If I was able to break it open,” said Ruth, “It wasn’t very secure. But yes. I did.”

The Professor’s chair whirled around, which was quite a feat considering it didn’t have wheels. “You have the makings of a mad scientist about you, girl. So pleased to see a third candidate. Have you considered transferring from the law school to the lab? I can always use more assistants around here.”

Ruth coughed. “I…feel it is very important to understand how the law works. I have always wanted to be a lawyer. I could be a Mad Lawyer, I suppose. Not that courts appreciate antics.”

You do seem like someone prone to courtroom antics.”

Might be necessary to defend your case," said Ruth, "when that comes up.”

Don’t jinx it, dear, I’m getting the feeling we’re messing with forces beyond our comprehension already.”

The Professor grabbed Ruth’s wrist, pushing up her sleeve to reveal brown and white feathers. “I really think that if you two keep talking in Bird then you’ll both turn into birds more quickly. If that’s what you want…”

We both shook our heads.

“Well,” said the Professor. “Anyway. I’ve almost got the paperwork completed for you two, and the university will reimburse you for the cost of gas. I told them you were going on a biological expedition to the islands of Lake Superior but I didn’t give too many details.”

I have a better idea than a car,” I said.

“Oh yeah?” said Ruth. “Show me.”





We stood in the courtyard, where Rook was enjoying the sun and the wind.

I don’t know how to fly too good yet,” they said. “And you want me to go all the way across the land?”

If you can,” I said. “You got the first part of flying down. Maybe I can teach you the rest tonight?”

You better. Then I will carry you. I want to fly far and see the world. Yes. I do want to see the land. I can do that if you teach me flying.”

Deal.”

“Hang on,” said Ruth. “Why can’t we just take a train?”

I gave her a Look, and made a few gestures pointing out my entire body.

Ruth looked embarrassed. “Right. Should have thought of that. Wearing a cloak and a plague-doctor mask on a train probably won’t fly, har har har. Alright, what about a car?”

“You would be properly isolated in a car,” said Professor Windsor. “I wouldn’t have made arrangements for that otherwise. The roads these days aren’t so good.”

I shook my head. “Hephaestus can spy on electronics and Hermes knows all the roads.”

“Ah,” said Ruth. “Yes, the Olympians do have their eyes on everything. You know, you almost sound like you’re beginning to buy into –”

DON’T say it.”

Ruth put up her hands as if to show she had nothing in them. 

“Before tonight,” said Professor Windsor, “I want to do a medical exam on Rani here. Just to make sure they’re not breaking down inside or anything. Physically breaking down, I mean. Mental breakdowns I can’t help with. Unless Doctor Morrow comes up with something.”

“You sound like you’re asking me for permission,” said Ruth.

“You have been highly defensive and supportive of Rani to the point of obsession,” said the Professor. “If I didn’t seek your approval you’d have come barging into the examination room anyway, telling me something about the legality of being a medical advocate.”

“That’s fair.”

“Not that the tests will be too invasive,” said the Professor. “Come on, let’s get started.”





As it happened, the tests were a little more invasive than I would have liked. Being touched by anyone other than Ruth was enough, and then there was the eye exam, the blood draw, the ear exam, plucking a feather, and taking a tiny clip from my talons, for by this point my entire foot and leg structure had changed to resemble an eagle’s. Fortunately Ruth was by my side for all of it, and I did not feel violated.

The hard part for the Professor was figuring out what species they could compare my vital stats to. I certainly didn’t have the body temperature of a human anymore, nor, when the blood analysis was done, did I seem to have a human level of hemoglobin. In the end, as I was not reporting any pains or nausea, the Professor decided to take my current vital stats as the baseline.

Close to the end of the tests, we heard a sharp knock on the door. Professor Windsor opened it to find Guy, looking disturbed. “Professor, that solution you wanted me to keep safe – I should have put it somewhere more secure, it’s disappeared from the cabinet. Anyone could have it.”

The Professor gave Ruth a Look. “Ruth, did you put that thing in a different cabinet or something?”

“I think I left it on a counter near the front of the building,” said Ruth.

“Wait a second,” said Guy. “It was you? Why?”

“I have been extremely foolish this day,” said Ruth. She explained her actions and their motivation. 

At the end of the explanation, Guy was looking at her with a mix of fascination and horror. “You, uh – wow. You might want to tone that down a bit, you know? Actually you’re probably learning the hard way now. Anyway, you’re saying that weird solution was where the bird thing is coming from…and you just left the thing out on a counter?”

“As I said. Extremely foolish.”

“Just be more careful with stuff, alright? You don’t want to put two things next to each other on a counter and have their fumes waft together and react violently. Unless you do. It would be a sneaky way to burn down a lab, wouldn’t it? Claim it was an accident. Oh jeez, I’m turning into a Mad Scientist myself. Goodbye.” He marched out of the room.

There was nothing left to do but go back to the dorm and decide what was worth packing for the skies ahead. A GPS, that would be important. A notebook, just in case the Professor wanted me to record the speech of birds, even though I had kept forgetting to do it and they hadn’t ever asked for it. Bowie knife, always a good idea. Waterproof matches – I still had those from my Scouting days, for some reason, along with a compass and high-powered flashlight and -- and if I brought all that stuff along with me I’d wind up overpacking like usual. Ruth was bringing her oilskin cloak and that was heavy enough.

I heard a little chirp on the windowsill. “Master?”

Ruth and I looked up. There was a little chickadee on the other side of the glass. I raised the window. “I would not be a slave, little bird, so I would not be a master. What news do you bring?”

We hear you are leaving us. Who will lead us in your absence?”

Ruth and I exchanged glances. “Yourselves, little bird. That is just what we have asked you to do, is it not? Form a congress and vote on things. Surely you are familiar with democracy, if you have ever seen a flock of starlings in flight?”

You would have birds of so many species be one flock. It is a new possibility. We will consider it.”

That is all I ask. Ah, but as a matter of fact – there is one more thing I will ask of you. If you could tell a robin to tell a jay to tell a crow to tell an eagle to tell Zeus that Ruth and I will be going on a journey to Mount Denali, in the far northwest, and wish to meet him there?”

Yes, my lord.”

I huffed, and shut the window with a thump.

“We’re not going to Mount Denali,” said Ruth. “That is the opposite of – oh. I see.”

I winked. “Should buy us a little time.”





Evening came, and with it, the waning moon. Ruth and I stood in the courtyard of the Morrow lab, looking up at Rook towering over us.

You’re looking kind of intimidating there,”  I shouted.

Rook looked down. “Sorry, just seeing if I could reach the moon. But maybe with wings I can! Can we get started?”

Let us begin,” I said, and that was when I realized I hadn’t put together a lesson plan. 

Well?” said Rook. “What must I do?”

One moment.” I spread my arms – wings at this point, really, and where the hell all that length was unfolding from I couldn’t tell because I certainly wasn’t dragging my flight feathers on the ground when I walked. There was definitely something suspicious going on there. But I could corner Professor Windsor and ask them about it later. “‘Scuse me, I gotta try something.”  I thrust my arms downward and rose off the ground. Then I tried to raise the wings to thrust them downward again, and wound up throwing myself at the ground.

You can’t fly good?

Still figuring it out for myself.”

Rook tilted their head in puzzlement. “You teach me something you don’t know how to do.”

Yeah, that’s what they say right? Those who can’t do, teach.”

I know how to flap my wings now. I will show you.” Rook crouched and sprang off the ground, then spread their wings, beating them slow and powerful.

Ah, so that’s how it worked. Not flapping the wings upward in equal motion to downward, but drawing them in a bit while raising them, before extending them outward again. Like a breaststroke through the water, only up and down. With that information in hand, I jumped up and copied Rook’s movements, gradually rising to their level.

You got it,” said Rook. “Now what?”

Hold your wings straight and stiff, and glide.” I demonstrated, which got me moving forward much more quickly than I had expected. And I was quite wobbly in flight, frantically twitching the flight feathers at the end of my wings to keep me stable. 

I turned my head backwards to see how Rook was handling the glide. They seemed to be getting it better than I did. I turned back and realized that I was about to hit the clocktower. I squawked, and banked hard to the right, missing the tower by inches and putting myself into a descending spiral down toward the law library. The gothic, pointy roof of the law library. Oh dear.

As I approached the shingles, I flapped hard to slow myself down. I am pleased to say that my landing was only heavy enough to dislodge a few tiles. 

When I turned to see where Rook was, I realized that I had left them far behind. No wonder that clock tower had come up so fast. Alright, maybe my problem with gliding was figuring out how to go slowly.

Rook finally hove into view, then flapped their wings hard to come to a slow landing. They shook the earth as they touched down. 

Sorry about leaving you behind,” I chirped.

Rook raised their neck up to the roof line to look me in the eye. “Did I do good? I think I did. Things came to me pretty easily once I got up there.”

How wonderful for you,” I hissed.

Don’t be so harsh, little bird. You did good. You fledged. You flew. We have both left the nest. We can fly as far as we wish now.”

Sure,” I said. “Best get back to that nest now, though, we don’t want to raise a ruckus on campus.”

And thus we rose into the air once more, back towards the Morrow lab.

When we were over the courtyard, I noticed a familiar tall fur-clad woman standing in the moonlight, in conversation with Ruth, who was staying in the shadows. I screeched, and banked into a tight spiral, coming to land between Ruth and Artemis. “You,” I squawked. “What do you want?”

“Oh my,” said Artemis. “Look what this lab has done to you, little chick. I remember when you looked quite different. As for my purpose here…I only wanted to warn you that I got wind of your little trick. I am advising you to fly fast and far on the first day, for you will not fool Zeus forever.”

I let out a long breath.

“That wasn’t all of it,” said Ruth. “You were complaining about the birds getting organized. I’ll have you know this is North America, miss. We don’t take kindly to folks lordin’ it over other folks around here.”

“That’s just for humans!” said Artemis. “You think birds work like humans?”

“One of them sure does.”

I don’t know,” I said. “I could really go for some mice right now.”

Just like many human beings,” said Ruth. “There, you see?”

That’s actually what I wanted to ask you about,” I said.

Artemis looked intrigued. “Oh?”

I know birds aren’t human. We’re asking the birds to get organized purely out of a sense of justice, but…I can’t say they actually have the same morality humans do. They’re crude, they’re violent…if I listen to the birds all day I would believe all the animals of the world were nasty, brutish and petty. So how do you put up with it? How do you walk and talk with the animals when their hearts are so little like yours?”

“Ah,” said Artemis. “How do you think I put up with mortals?”

“You’re not so different from mortals as humans are from birds,” said Ruth. “You look human and you act like it. The difference between you and us is you can get a lot older and you can get away with stuff.”

Artemis sniffed. “That is a fair point. Alright, I will put it another way. How do you think Rani’s parents felt, when they came to North America? When they left a land of one moral code, and came to one that was greatly different?”

That’s a good point. Although it sounds like you’re equating Americans with birds.”

You all fly free, do you not? And you, my fine feathered frenemy, seem to have equated birds with Americans in your desire to see them vote on things.” Artemis chuckled. “In my younger days, I lived in a land where the chief sin was hubris, where equating oneself to the gods was the worst one could do. Here, though, it seems an ideal. You are to me what the birds are to you. And yet, you let the birds live. Thus do I let you live.”

I felt my feathers ruffling at the unspoken implications of that statement. 

“Honestly,” said Artemis, “You really ought to ask your parents about this.”

Never ask me to make that call,” I said. “It is an order I will openly refuse.”

Artemis’ eyes gleamed. “Disrespect to one’s elders,” she growled. “Another high value in this misbegotten land. Well, I have nothing further to say to such impudent mortals tonight.” She whirled around and took the form of an eagle, and flew away into the night.