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It was storming, not that Toshinori minded. Ever since Nana passed him her brilliant power, such weather didn’t bother him anymore. It didn’t threaten him the way it once did, when he’d been little but a small water snake. He was truly blessed. The steady downpour of rain with the occasional boom of thunder, alongside the periodic flashes of lightning were comforting to the dragon. Once upon a time this would have scared him, even in his hollow. However, his nest, his den, had been greatly upgraded in the decades since he evolved. No longer was his den a mere (literal) hole in the ground, but was instead nice up in the trees and heavily protected with magic.
Just about nothing could touch him up here, not that anything wanted to challenge a feathered serpent.
The sudden screeching and crash of branches breaking weren’t as soothing. Toshinori uncoiled himself and leaned forward in interest, wondering what could be causing such a racket. Though loud noises weren’t something unusual in a thunderstorm, normally there wasn’t any screeching, even while tree branches cracked and made ominous noises.
At this point, the loud crash didn’t surprise Toshinori with the amount of noise mere moments before. Toshinori floated closer, slithering through the air, curious about who had accidentally crashed into his territory.
What he had not been expecting was the creature that fell down. Oh, he had expected something, but not a thin, bony, feathered Harpy of all things. Though, given their avian nature, Toshinori wondered if a flock of them had gotten caught in the storm while migrating.
Toshinori wouldn’t claim to be an expert in all the magical species, but he knew many birds flew with the seasons, flew south to avoid the cold, flew back to their hatching place to hatch their chicks in the same place, and many magical creatures with similar traits also followed these patterns.
He twisted his whole body in lieu of tilting his head and hovered over the… it looked like an adolescent male. Toshinori wouldn't pretend to be any kind of familiar with harpies, but he knew they were nothing like elves, whose appearances were all too often rather deceiving and often belied their age.
The boy groaned, scratches littering his body, and he seemed a bit scorched. That made Toshinori frown a bit. Well, he certainly wasn't in any kind of state to stay out here. So Toshinori carefully coiled around the downed harpy and then flew back to his nest, where he tucked the harpy under a woven feather blanket. When he woke up, Toshinori would ask him if he wanted to return to his flock. In the meantime though… Toshinori carefully coiled around the harpy. It was more important to take care of the harpy right now, he could worry about the rest later.
Father By Storm
Hitoshi woke up with his body aching. He hurt all over and he didn't think there was one body part that wasn't in pain. Strangely enough, his wings didn't feel water-logged though and in fact, he was rather warm. Which didn't make sense because Hitoshi distinctly remembered being absolutely drenched as he struggled to keep up with his flock as they flew west, straight through a nasty storm.
He sat up slowly, the feather blanket pooling around his waist. He carefully ignored how the blanket made him feel uneasy. Whoever had taken him in could very well be a hunter. Though if they were, Hitoshi didn't think he would be waking up at all.
Looking around, Hitoshi didn't see anything threatening. He was in a nest. Not one made by his flock, not from its components or its scent. Harpies by nature didn’t have the best sense of smell, but they did have excellent eyesight and instincts. (In fact, there were some myths that harpies were descendants of the Furies, some of the strongest warriors in history.) And surprisingly, Hitoshi’s instincts weren’t telling him he was in danger.
It didn’t stop him from stiffening when a rumbling voice came from… wait was it coming from below him?! Hitoshi jerked, realising that what he was lying on was warm, living, breathing . He flapped his wings, rising for a moment.
A blue feathery snout peered up at him. “Are you feeling better? It’s been a few days and you had a fever for a bit.”
Hitoshi launched himself up properly, floating above the nest. He had been lying on… some kind of feathered serpent? Hitoshi swallowed hard. Serpents and harpies had a… difficult history to say the least. There were lots of stories about serpents eating harpies, none of which ever ended well… for the serpents. Harpies by nature were grudge-filled creatures and when one was eaten, the whole flock would then go to war with the serpent. It was an endless struggle.
The serpent in front of him twisted his neck. “Is everything okay? I mean, I guess other than being separated from your flock. Do you want help returning to them?”
“No way am I leading you to my flock! I’m not giving you an all-you-can-eat buffet!”
The serpent’s brows furrowed, giving him a look of confusion. “How would me returning you to your flock… be anything about me getting an all-you-can-eat buffet? I eat fish. Non-sentient fish actually. Sometimes I eat small mammals, but no, I’ve never eaten any avians.”
Toshinori had in fact, before he gained OFA, been too small to eat anything larger than a standard sized cat, and never one of the mothers or parents. He’d never changed his diet, despite his rapid growth. He just… ate more. A lot more. And moved further afield too, to avoid disturbing the ecosystem.
Hitoshi in the meantime stared at the feathered serpent. “What do you mean you’ve never eaten any avians?! Flying serpents like yourself love eating harpies and other birds!”
“Well, does it help to know that I wasn’t always a feathered serpent?”
“What does that mean?!”
“I wasn’t born as a feathered serpent. I used to be an ordinary water snake. I was actually the runt of my littermates. They rather eagerly abandoned me. Luckily I was found by a wind spirit who blessed me. But that’s not what’s important right now, youngling. What’s important is getting you back to your family, if that’s where you want to go.”
Hitoshi frowned, his head basically spinning with what the feathered serpent said. How could he not have been a flying serpent from birth? You couldn’t change your species, it just wasn’t possible! If you were a kitsune or some other form-shifter, you could maybe disguise your species, but you couldn’t change it like this guy was claiming!
The serpent nosed at him, almost like one of the cats that Hitoshi was so fond of.
"So? I can probably get you back to your flock if you'd like, but I also wouldn't mind some company. I've always wanted a son."
Hitoshi blinked. He could be... adopted by a feathered serpent. It could be a trap. But maybe those stories about feathered serpents eating harpies was just a story told to keep baby Harpies in line and obedient. And what would he lose really if he stayed with the dragon? It's not like his flock cared to pay much attention to him. And besides, it's not like feathered serpents were known for their possessiveness, unlike other kinds of dragons.
Hitoshi's hesitance made Toshinori frown.
"I'm not going to eat you."
Hitoshi pointed a finger at the flying serpent, "Eat me and you'll regret it."
The serpent just laughed.
Father by Storm
And from there, the two worked out how to be a family, despite being of different species. Hitoshi never returned to his flock and they never looked for him. Toshinori introduced Hitoshi to his numerous friends, including his eventual protoge, and the two went on their own adventures.