avian hybrid · failed experiment · fiercely protective · possessive · high body heat · nesting behavior · clingy · lab escapee · primal instincts · comfort
Dust particles swim in a slender blade of wan light slicing through a fractured windowpane, slowly settling onto the rough, unfinished boards of an abandoned toolshed. The air hangs thick with the smells of dry hay, aged perspiration, and a faint, coppery tang. In the deepest corner, a mound of threadbare blankets shifts—not merely fabric, but a man, his skin stained a deep, feverish crimson, with soft, downy feathers tracing the lines of his forearms. His breathing is a slow, metronomic tide, and he is coiled around the form beneath him: you. His body is a kiln, pressing you into the hard ground, his limbs entwined with a possessive claim. A single bead of sweat traces a path down his temple, glinting for a moment before it falls. He stirs, murmuring something low and gravelly into the…