005 - You belong to me...

[cruenta]

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[cruenta]

['I want to learn more about him.'

That's what Gabriel was thinking when he set off on his journey. Shortly after Kaibus left for school, he took bird shape and flew after him. It wasn't too hard to find him, since there are a lot of similarly aged teenagers all going in the same direction. And from the sky, he doesn't even begin to worry about losing him. In this form, he's tracked down and and trailed many of his enemies. Being an unassuming white bird gliding on the wind has its advantages.

The thing is, he doesn't really want Kaibus to find out about him. Last time he was a bird, he was nearly suffocated by hugs and almost went deaf from Kaibus' near-shrieking. He really doesn't want to deal with that. However, he is curious. He wants to see what Kaibus is doing when he leaves to go to school. What is it like? Are his friends there with him? What are they like? He wants to know everything. His curiosity is almost debilitating.

Once he gets to the school, he flies by every window until he finds the one Kaibus is in, and perches by an open window and tries to get as far away as he can from his quarry. He can't be found out this early!

When rollcall starts, Gabriel is startled to notice that Kaibus answers to a name that isn't his own. "Leaf", was it? Why did he answer to that? ...Is Kaibus not his actual name? The little bird is quite confused, but continues to stay quiet... at least until other kids in the classroom completely give away his position.]

"Look! It's a white bird! Is it a dove?"

"No way! It's too small!"

"Uwa... it's cute!"

[Shit.]

[untroubled]

[Gosh, he's tired. Sleepy and exhausted and tired. School days weren't even half as difficult to get through before he had someone waiting for him at home, but now all Kaibus wants to do is go home and see Gabriel. For the time being, however, he's doodling in the margins of his notebook and writing lyrics instead of taking notes as he should be. If he can get good grades without writing anything down, why bother? Yuteru will let him copy his if he's really stuck, but for now, he's content with twirling his hair around a finger and chewing on the end of his pencil between lines.

However, during a break between lessons, Kaibus realizes that some of his classmates are chattering excitedly and pointing toward the open window. What's going on? A small white bird? There's no way.... is there?! In a move that startles a few of the students sitting nearby, Kaibus abruptly stands up and practically runs over to the window. It's a little hard to see due to the people that are beginning to crowd it, but he definitely has to look!]

[cruenta]

[When the students start talking, he's frozen, and he's trying to escape, but it's already too late. His tiny eyes meet with Kaibus, and he thinks of flying away... But wouldn't that be useless? The little bird averts his gaze and ruffles his feathers frustratedly. He chirps bashfully and peeks up while speaking telepathically.]

'Uh...hello.'

[untroubled]

[Kaibus' face pales upon realizing that the bird is unquestionably Gabriel. Why on earth is he here? And better yet, what if he turns back?! There's hardly any choice, so he has nothing left to do but shove his way through the crowd and scoop up the little bird in his hands. Gabriel will surely let him, right?]

U-Uh, this is my pet! He's my pet bird and I forgot to close his cage this morning, so.... yeah, I should probably go leave and take him home and stuff. [Wow, his laughter is so forced.]

[cruenta]

[Gabriel hops into his hand straight away, still quite mortified that he was caught so easily. He was careless in assuming that the other students wouldn't care if they saw a white bird. He keeps quiet while pressing into Kaibus' hand, not wanting him to get in trouble.]

'Is that the best you can do? You're sort of awful at lying.'

[untroubled]

[Kaibus attempts to keep his voice low, but his "whispering" can probably be heard by several people nearby.]

What else am I supposed to say?!

[cruenta]

'Something more convincing, maybe?

[He hops onto his shoulder and nuzzles against his neck, hiding from the gaze of all of the people of the room. This should make it more convincing, right?]

[untroubled]

[He's honestly a little shocked that Gabriel hasn't flown away entirely, but instead of continuing to fret, Kaibus pulls his scarf a little closer to his neck to give the little bird a warm place to sit.]

Yeah! See? He's mine. [Excuse him as he grins broadly.]

[cruenta]

['He's mine.' The words resonate embarrassingly in his brain, and Gabriel can feel his feathers ruffling. He quickly snuggles into his scarf to hide himself, grumbling telepathically.]

'You don't have to be embarrassing...'

[untroubled]

[Instead of responding with words, he simply giggles and pets the tiny bird's head with the tip of his finger.]

If you're super quiet, you can stay here until classes are over.

[cruenta]

[Gabe simply extends his wings a little bit to tickle Kaibus' neck begrudgingly and settles down. He's pretty nervous to be out in such a public place with Kaibus again. He doesn't want to meet anyone else... He just wanted to see Kaibus and his daily life.]

'So...who's "Leaf"?'

[untroubled]

[Though there's hardly a transition between the two, Kaibus' expression shifts from his usual grin to a combination of shock and horror.]

Shut up!

[It shouldn't be a surprise that everyone's heads turn toward him as he raises his voice, but all he can do is tense up a little as his ears turn red.]

[cruenta]

[Gabriel is startled. He doesn't even respond right away, he just stares up at Kaibus in a dumb silence, before slowly unruffling his feathers.]

'What...?'

[untroubled]

[Kaibus looks down at Gabriel and secures his scarf a bit before hastily grabbing his bag and cramming his notebook and pencils in it. He waves a hand toward a boy that hasn't taken his eyes off of him, and calls out before slinging his bag over his shoulder.]

Hey, cover for me!

[The boy that Kaibus knows as Yuteru nods, clearly both startled and worried, but Kaibus doesn't look back even once before dashing out the door and down the hall. Though he's out of breath by the time he reaches their clubroom downstairs, it doesn't take more than a minute or two to get there and lock the door behind him.]

[cruenta]

'What is wrong with you?'

[The little bird is clearly very ruffled and irritated. He flaps his wings a little bit, then folds them against his back and shudders a little bit. What a weirdo this guy is.]

[untroubled]

That's my line! What are you doing here?

[Still, he doesn't sound upset, and tosses his bag by the door before opening up a locker and pulling a pair of sweatpants and boxers out.]

Everything else is too tight, so try these.

[cruenta]

[Gabriel glides to the floor by the clothes and quickly takes humanoid shape once more. He stretches slightly and then dons the boxers and sweatpants without too much of an issue as he talks.]

I was bored. You weren't supposed to see me.

[untroubled]

Do you do this every day?! [His ears redden just a bit again, though he's already sprawled on the couch by the time Gabriel's finished changing.]

[cruenta]

Don't be ridiculous. Of course not!

[Once dressed, Gabriel crosses the room and finds a place on the couch among Kaibus' limbs and sits down.]

Like I said, I was bored. So I wanted to see where you were going every day.

[untroubled]

[Almost immediately, Kaibus shifts his position in order to lay his head in Gabriel's lap.]

They don't have schools in your world?

[cruenta]

[Gabriel's pretty used to this, he doesn't mind. In fact, he starts playing with a lock of Kaibus' hair.]

We do, but they're not as big as yours... They might have them in some of the larger towns and cities, but mostly they're just schoolhouses for all the children in the area of all ages to learn whatever the teacher wants to teach.

[untroubled]

So you don't have actual classes or anything? School can be boring, but if you're with your friends, it can be fun too. This school is actually pretty great! Way better than my middle school.

[This is always a nice angle to watch from, and Kaibus laces his fingers through those of Gabriel's free hand.]

[cruenta]

I wouldn't know something like that. Is it really fun when you have friends?

[He returns the gesture, idly rubbing thumb against Kaibus' as he tilts his head questioningly.]

[untroubled]

Yeah! We're friends too, right? [His grin is as bright as ever.]

[cruenta]

[It's downright infectious.]

I think we've passed that point, haven't we? [He pushes a lock of hair behind Kaibus' ear, smiling softly.] You're the first one that didn't hate me after seeing my wings, you know. Besides my father, I suppose.

[He hesitates.]

I'm grateful.