The MythBreakers Saga

The Falconer - 1

Tiara woke up to the sounds of various screeches, as she always did. She yawned and sat up onto her bed, glancing over at her owl, Uhu, who tilted its head in response. She couldn't help but grin at the reaction. She ruffled its feathers a bit, to which the foreign bird chirped affectionately. After playing with Uhu for a little while, she rose from her bed and made her way to her small apartment's kitchen. She opened a small cupboard and took out some bread crumbs. She then made her way to each and every birds' cage, giving them a generous handful of food. As they ate, Tiara smiled. It was very clear that she loved these creatures, both to them themselves and any bystanders.

She then felt her stomach grumble a little bit, so she opened an adjacent cupboard. Her food supply was running pretty damn low, but it wasn't anything she wasn't used to. She snagged a small loaf of bread and took a small bite, relishing in its taste. Tiara took a bag of bread crumbs from the first cupboard and Uhu flew over and perched on the falconer's shoulder. Tiara, with bread and bag in hand and owl on shoulder, opened the door to her apartment and began walking the streets of Mythton.

...

After a small trek, Tiara had found herself in her favorite park in the coastal city of Mythton. For such a small town, with much of its land being used for corn fields and specialty stores, there was quite an abundance of parks and nature preserves. Although she had been to each and every one of them, this was most certainly her favorite. There was something about the freshness in the air, the clean grasses and plentiful trees, and of course the seemingly endless amount of birds that called the place home that stole her heart. Tiara had found that she began going every day, and she always made a new discovery whenever she went. Sometimes the appearance of a new bird friend would occur, and sometimes she would meet one of the many residents of Mythton. She began to get a bit eager and she sat down on one of the park's many benches.

She looked up towards the sky. It was a gorgeous day, with stratocumulus clouds peppering the blue and the bright sun ever so prominent. Taking in the sun's beautiful rays, she looked down. The long grasses swayed with the wind, and, although springs' flowers began to wilt, summers' beautiful lavenders and fuschias began to blossom into full grown flowers. Indeed, it was a wonderful sight, enough to make anyone smile. She looked to her left and saw the forest. That was the only drawback to this park in her eyes. Of course, she always thought the forest was a breathtaking place, but the expansive wood was a femme fatale of sorts, with many dangers awaiting it. Even so, the residents were quite aware of its true nature and were always sure to exercise caution when going near it, including the children that played happily in its trees, laughing at whatever game they seemed to be playing.

Tiara then looked over at a fairly sizable group of about ten birds that were singing in a nearby tree. Seeing her chance, she took the small bag of bread crumbs and spread them onto the ground. As always, the winged animals flew down and ate the food that she had spread for them, and even when they were done feasting they decided to stick around with the falconer, sitting on the bench with her. One even sat on her lap, to Uhu's jealousy. The owl tilted its head, which made Tiara giggle.

"Come on, Uhu," she petted the foreign owl, "You know you're my number one, ara. I would never replace you."

Uhu let out a short chirp and turned its head. Tiara rolled her eyes.

Tsundere bird... she thought to herself with a smile, petting the bird that was on her lap. However, the bird seemed to be looking curiously at something the falconer was wearing. And it wasn't just the bird on her lap either, most all of the birds seemed to have their eyes locked onto it.

It was Tiara's phoenix-shaped pendant. It was one that she received a long time ago from... you know, it's been so long that she couldn't even remember. But she did know it was important, so she always kept it around her neck. She held it up to her face and looked as its golden sheen reflected the sunlight. There was no doubt in her mind that the birds were captivated by its glimmer.