Our mate would not lock us up, his hawk insisted.
And he knew she wouldn’t. She’d been understanding and curious, and he knew she’d keep asking him questions for the rest of their lives, but he looked forward to that. He hoped she had more questions he didn’t know the answer to so they could find out together. Normal birds avoided him and other bird shifters, but how much? For how long? No one back home had looked into it. His parents had put up bird feeders in the backyard a few winters ago, but the only birds who visited were peckish neighbors. Her questions roused his own curiosity.
Along with other things.
She’s taking us back to her nest! We shall build a stronger one together.
He wouldn’t rush into things. Yes, she was leading him back to her tent, but they’d only just met and she didn’t know about their connection. He should be happy she wanted to spend more time with him. If all she wanted to do tonight was talk, he would love that. He wanted to learn more about her and how she ended up at Pinevale University. Where else had she been to study birds? How did she drink her coffee in the morning?
The tent itself was dark blue and might fit two people if those two people didn’t mind getting cozy.
“Wait here.” Madison zipped it open and crawled in.
Simon was glad her bulky red coat covered him enough to give him some dignity, but he still felt awkward waiting outside. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?” He watched the light dance around inside.
“I’m fine. The sweatpants are in here somewhere.” The rustling stopped. “Are you okay with canned tomato soup and beef jerky for dinner?”
“Sure.” He was fine with anything she wanted to share. “Maybe tomorrow evening I can make you dinner.”
We must hunt for her first.
Simon didn’t think she’d appreciate his hawk’s gift of mice.
There was more rustling inside the tent, and her head popped out. “Are you inviting me to dinner?”
“Yes?” Wasn’t he supposed to? Dinner invitations were normal as far as dates went, right? Or was it too much for a first date?
She blinked and ducked back inside. “Here’re the sweatpants!” He took the gray fabric from her hands, holding it out in front of him. They looked like they’d be short on him, but at least he’d be able to repeat his dinner invitation while semi-decently clothed.
“They fit okay.” He accepted more of the camping gear Madison passed him. Soon, he had two foldable chairs and the cooking gear set up while she handed him tin cans, cutlery, and other things they’d need to cook. He smiled when she handed him a bag of marshmallows and a chocolate bar.
“The s’mores are dessert,” she told him, when she crawled out of the tent. She eyed his bare calves. “Are you sure you’re not chilly?”
“I’m fine.” He lit the gas stove. “Shifters are pretty resilient. Can you hand me the pan and the soup?”
“I thought you weren’t making me dinner until tomorrow?” She handed him the equipment.
“I’ve ruined your net. It’s the least I can do.” It was a better answer than ‘I want to cook for you every night from now on.’
Madison turned on the lantern while he stirred the soup. “I told you not to worry about that. But resilient how? And how much compared to humans? I promise I’m not plotting any studies.”
“You are, though.” He smiled to let her know he didn’t mind. “I can tell.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Cannot.”
“But I’m right.”
Madison laughed at that, crawling back into the tent. “D’you want a beer while you prepare the soup?”
“Yes, please.” After the day he’d had, he’d earned it.
She handed him a cool bottle and sat down in her chair. “This is nice.”
“You sound surprised.” He stirred the soup slowly. Did she feel their connection? Should he repeat his dinner invitation?
“It’s been a while since someone made me dinner. Even if it’s just heating some soup.” She opened her bottle and took a long sip.
“That’s a shame.” She sounded so wistful that it made him ache. But on the bright side, did that mean she didn’t have a boyfriend?
She shrugged. “It is what it is.” She took another long sip, and her blue eyes found his. “You’re being nice.”
He frowned, not liking how suspicious she sounded. Was it unusual that people were nice to her?
“I like to think I’m a nice guy.” Had he given her any reason to be on her guard? He’d done his best to be nothing but friendly and open to her questions.
Our mate is cautious. His hawk approved, but Simon preferred it if she wasn’t cautious around him.
“I mean…” She fell silent for a moment. “You turn into a hawk. And there’s this amazing community of other animal shifters out there that I’m not supposed to know about because I’ll lock you up in a lab. Except here you are, heating soup for us, even though less than an hour ago you were stuck in one of my nets.”
She gestured at him with the beef jerky. “You should be angry! You shouldn’t even be here. If I were you, I’d be back home warning people about what had happened, and how to make sure the ornithologist didn’t breathe a word.”
With a pang, he realized his family had to be worried sick by now. “Can I borrow your phone?”
She reached for the inside of her jacket, then hesitated. “Why?”
“I have to tell my family what happened. I was only supposed to go for a quick flight, so they’ll be expecting me to come back soon. It’s not to warn them or so they can make dastardly plans against
