It's A Hoot (mxm)

Chapter 1

A chill was in the air. Summer was turning to fall and the cold was moving in. The leaves on the trees were starting to turn brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows.
Toren liked this time of year. When the rains came in and the sky clouded over. When it was just cold enough to need a coat, but warm enough to not shiver at the slightest breeze.
He sighed, watching his breath float through the air like a cloud before it evaporated.
The city was growing calm as the sun descended below the skyline. He stood on the sidewalk among the evening crowd, watching the cars pass and waiting for the walk signal to cross the street.
There was a lulled murmur of conversation that enveloped him. It was comforting, in a way. As though the world was whispering "I'm alive" in one voice.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, shrugging his shoulders to push his jacket closer around his neck.
He was going home today. Not his apartment, but home to his parents. It'd been a while since he'd last visited. They didn't live very far apart and he felt bad for taking so long to get around to it.
His mother had been the one to finally take initiative and planned for him to come over for dinner.
She'd learned over the years that he never meant anything by it, he was just bad at keeping in touch. It was the reason he had no friends. Even more so was that it didn't bother him in the slightest when it wasn't his parents. They were his only exception.

They meant the world to him. When no one else could handle him, they stepped in and gave him a home. Home, to Toren, would always be with them, no matter where they were. If they were there with him, he was home.

The light changed and he began to move with the crowd. He'd have driven to his parents' place, but it wasn't far enough away to justify wasting gas.

His parents lived in a secluded neighborhood in the city, one that sometimes made you forget you were in the city at all. It was the perfect place for a little owl shifter such as him to grow up.

He passed a park before he took the street that lead into the community. Some of the neighbors were out, tending to their lawns or enjoying the last rays of the sun.
Toren walked with a slight skip in his step, throwing a wave when he was noticed. They all knew him, or at least knew who's child he was. It was only polite to acknowledge them.

He smiled to himself when he spotted the yellow painted house near the end of the cul-de-sac. So many memories were made there, but what warmed him more was the thought of seeing the two people he loved most in the world.

He speed walked the last few steps and jogged up the porch to knock firmly against the door.
He leaned back as he waited, a smile on his face. He was patient, he knew they were getting older and it took them longer to get around. They were already in their fifties when they took him in.

Silence fell over the house. It stretched out for longer than Toren liked. He tilted his head, listening for the sounds of footsteps or the slight scrape of his father's prosthetic leg, but there was nothing.
He walked over to a window and tried to peer in through the blinds. He couldn't see much, but there was no movement.
He leaned over the porch rail to look at their empty driveway. They didn't usually park in the garage, but sometimes they managed to clear it enough to fit the car.

He jogged back down the porch steps and stood on his toes to peer into the windows on the garage door. The car was missing. Was he early?

He fished his phone from his pocket to check the time. Six. That was when they planned to have dinner together.
He shrugged and set himself down on the porch steps. They probably went out for groceries and got caught up in traffic. It was pretty busy at that time.

He rested his elbows on his knees and took to observing the neighborhood as he waited. He was as still as a statue and could remain that way for hours. People found it a little unnerving if they ever noticed him. It didn't help that he had large, round, pale yellow eyes that seemed to take the world in all at once.