[owlery] ruffle my feathers ⭐️ andy

Jet sat back down onto the floor of the owlery. A spot he had previously cleaned and written a few letters on. Now he was watching his last letter being carried away by an owl, Endora’s wings making barely any sound; Kalevi’s letter clutched in her claws. There was a constant weight on his shoulder as Knight slept on it contently. The Black-banded Owl belonged to @Alexander Zhen. He liked to cosy up to the Ravenclaw whenever he came by the owlery. Similar to Winter, who landed on his arm again a few seconds after Jet sat back down and hooted softly at him. Reaching out, Jet gave Hyacinth’s owl a gentle pat, getting a bit more comfortable on the ground, leaning against the wall. He shifted his attention to the small package with treats and pulled a few out, feeding it to the white owl perched on his forearm.

A fresh weight on his knee made him jerk a little, the Ravenclaw glad for the charm he was used to having on his body by now. Most of his body, yes. Watching another owl land on his thigh, Jet had learned his lesson enough times to know he was a favourite seat for many of these animals whenever he came around. It was better to be scratch-free than to have to heal them later before bed. He wasn’t sure if the other students had it the same, but he couldn’t complain. Owls were cute, and Jet liked all animals. He didn’t mind the attention and smiled as another owl made its way up his leg, hooting at the previous ‘thigh’ visitor rather loudly as if trying to tell it to get out its way. He gave treats to all of them, of course, a wide grin perched on his face the whole time.

Feeling a nip at his ear, Jet laughed lightly and turned his head to see Knight watching him. Jet thought he looked a bit sleepy, but he also wasn’t too sure how was a sleepy owl supposed to look. "Here," he hummed with a smile and gave a treat to the dark bird as well. He got a hoot as a reply before the food was eaten from his hand. Knight tended to be a bit greedy when it came to food and attention. A bit like Zane. Jet giggled at the thought and patted the Slytherin’s owl.

He was so focused on the birds sitting on him and the silence surrounding him like a protective bubble that Jet almost flew out of his skin when the door to the owlery opened. Hearing a rather loud hoot next to his ear, he winced a little and turned his head to look towards the entrance. Seeing the Lovecraft boy there, Jet felt his cheeks colours, and he wasn’t so sure if it was because he felt a bit embarrassed at getting spooked or because of who it was.

Before he could say anything, the owl sitting on his thigh suddenly flew up and made a beeline for the other student. The bird plopped right onto Andy’s head and into his hair, chirping proudly.

Jet let out a loud laugh before he could stop himself, eyes twinkling and nose wrinkling a little. His cheeks burned, but the sight was adorable and all too funny to look at.

"Is that a hello?" He giggled.

@Andronicus Lovecraft

"No, off," Andronicus waved at the bird that decided to land squarely on his perfectly tousled hair and shook his head. He didn't want to knock the bird off violently, he wasn't trying to have his eyes scratched out, but he certainly was not as content as the other wizard in Owlery seemed to be being treated as a perch. "Come off of it," The seventh year said again, but the owl was determined to stay on top of his brown locks. Andy's head felt heavy, like it was being pushed down into his neck, and it was increasingly uncomfortable.

To make it worse, Jet seemed to be laughing at him, and if Andy was anyone else other than the man with an owl on his head, he might have found it amusing. His shoulders barely moved, head still, as Andy reached into his pocket to produce his wand. He spoke a soft Accio spell, summoning one of the treats he had seen Jet feeding the birds when he first opened the door and used the snack to entice the owl off of him. Finally, it acquiesced, and Andy was quick to brush whatever debris the owl had left in its wake.

"Are they always like that?" The Slytherin asked, moving to a paned window and inspecting his hair in the foggy reflection. As he saw the outline of Jet sitting on the ground in the glass, Andy came to a sudden realization. This was likely the first time the pair had spoken since a lot of awful things had been exchanged in their younger years. His past was constantly chasing Andronicus, but more often than not, he was the torturer rather than the tortured. Caught in the snares of his evil older cousins and a need to fit in, the Pureblood had picked the wrong side his first few years, and he was doing everything he could to be better as he grew older. He'd apologized a lot in the past few years, but there was always one more name on the list.