FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A piercing screech echoed through the half-filled auditorium. Some let out gasps and others looked on in awe as the bald eagle soared mere feet above their heads before gripping onto a thick leather glove protecting the handler's hand from its sharp talons. All had gone as planned and the audience members began clapping.

Sora was sitting right in front of the stage, in the first row. This was the 9:00pm show, the last one before the zoo closed for the night, and the fourth of the day. He had been to all four shows, sitting in the same spot each time.

Birds fascinated him; they always had, and probably always would. Since owning them wasn't allowed where he lived, coming to the zoo was the only place he could see some of the more exotic ones up close. Sora came whenever he could, bought a season pass even.

The handler gave a light bow as the audience began to file out, though the eagle on his arm looked almost disappointed to see them go. For a brief moment, the eagle turned its attention to Sora and stared for a half-second longer than was natural.

Sora blinked once as the raptor fixated its eyes onto him. It was intimidating to say the least, and he turned away only when he noticed that the other audience members had begun to file out of the auditorium. Not wanting to be fussed at for delaying the clean up process, Sora made his way towards the exit.

A voice halted him just as he took a step outside into the cool November night. "Hey! Hold up a second!"

Sora turned back towards the exit to see one of the handlers from an earlier show approaching. They didn't always feature the same birds in each performance, and each handler was assigned to a different time and group of birds.

"I noticed that you come here quite often. Didn't you come to all four performances today?"

"Oh yeah, I did. I always enjoy them."

The handler gave a light smile at hearing this. "Well that's some sort of dedication. I think I recall seeing you before today too. But hey, listen. We don't usually offer to do this, but would you like to come see them up close? Don't worry about the zoo closing, we have to stay after to clean up anyway."

Sora seemed a bit lost for words for a few moments. "Really? Oh I'd love to, but don't you have to have special training to do that?"

"Don't worry about that. They're quite used to being around people at this point. Most of them will probably be asleep at this hour anyway."

"Well in that case, I'd love to!"

The handler smiled and beckoned to Sora to follow him back into the auditorium. They headed up onto the stage and through a door in the back which led to a large area filled with cages, most of which were occupied by an exotic bird of some kind. There were all sorts of parrots, hawks, and owls.

The handler moved towards the rear of the room and unlocked a single door, then entered. Sora followed close behind, though was tempted to get a closer look at some of the birds in the first room.

"Back here is where we keep the larger ones. Have a look."

This room looked considerably different than the first one. Not only was it much larger, there weren't any cages; but there were large birds perched on various props all around the room. Nothing was stopping them from just flying out when the door was opened.

"They don't just fly away?" Sora looked a bit confused, nervous even. The handler was right, these were considerably bigger than the ones in the first room, and there weren't any cages to prevent them from flying wherever they liked.

"Oh no, they're quite content here. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Sora paused, a bit confused. "I'll wha---"

Before he could finish, a large bald eagle swooped down from the rafters onto a perch directly in front of the two. Sora couldn't help but look at it, it was the same one that had looked at him in the last performance.

"What do you mean I'll enjoy i---" Sora had intended to look back at the handler, but as soon as his gaze met the eagle's, he couldn't break it. He was transfixed, something about the eagle's eyes was preventing him from looking anywhere else.

"Wh-- What's going on? Help!"

Sora was immobilized, unable to move or look away from the avian's eyes. He heard the handler's voice again, but this time it wasn't verbal, and it wasn't coming from the person standing beside him; it was coming from in front of him, from the eagle.

"Don't fight it. There's nothing you can do. You'll be happier this way, trust me."

Sora initially wanted to lash out at the eagle, but it was as if his own thoughts were preventing him from doing so. Part of his mind wanted to listen to the bird in front of him, and that part was growing ever more present.

"W-what are you doing to me?"

The eagle didn't make any effort to break eye contact with Sora. It didn't want to. "I've been watching you. You come to watch me every day, I'm going to reward you. Someone like you shouldn't be an owl or a raven; no, you should be a golden eagle. I haven't had one of those yet."

Sora didn't respond. His human desires were being erased from his mind, replaced by more avian cravings; the will to hunt, to soar, to be free.

His mind wasn't the only thing to change, it was only the first. Sora's body began to shrink, and his hair was replaced with sharp protrudings all over his body. Light brown feathers began to sprout up, and he began to feel much lighter. His bones were hollowing out. Sora felt no pain from all this, the eagle wouldn't allow for him to feel that.

His arms expanded out and long feathers grew out from his fingertips, and his legs began to feel rough. Sharp talons ripped through the soles of his shoes, and his vision became much more focused and clear.

After only minutes, all that remained of Sora's old life was a pile of clothes lying around a preening golden eagle. He retained most of his memories, except for his name, but they were of little consequence now. The eagle saw little point in names. Having one meant you were tamed; that you were owned.

With a flick of his wings, the golden eagle hopped up onto the perch next to the bald eagle, who seemed pleased with his work. They would begin searching for new additions the next day.

He was free.