Birdcage (Black Butler) *Finnian/OC*

Andie had always loved being outdoors. Much, much more than being cooped up inside. She liked the fresh air, the various sounds and smells, the feeling of being out in the open... She welcomed all kinds of weather and enjoyed nothing more than watching, or even assisting, Finnian with the gardening.

But even now there were still always new flowers and new creatures to discover. Things that probably wouldn't seem that abnormal to most people. But Andie had never had a whole lot to do with wildlife - to her, being able to explore such a wide expanse of the Phantomhive grounds at her own free will had opened her eyes to so many more amazing things.

"Hey Andie! Look how many birds there are!"

Andie turned to see Finnian staring ahead in delight through large sea blue eyes. She followed his gaze and sure enough, there were a flock of no fewer than twenty sparrows gathered on the lawn. They were hopping about and pecking at the ground, and certainly paying no mind to the two young servants.

"Why are there so many?" Andie asked, kneeling down so that she could try and count them better. It still didn't work - they kept moving around.

"The ground's really damp here," said Finnian, stamping one of his wellington boots against the wet grass as emphasis. "They must be looking for worms."

"Oh..."

"I know! Wait here a second!" Finnian suddenly decided. "I'll be back!"

"Oh. Okay."

Andie watched as Finnian raced back across the lawn towards the manor, before turning her attention back to the birds. She was crouching quite close to them but they didn't seem to mind. She wanted to try creeping closer, but was worried that it might make them all fly away.

Finnian soon returned, waving a bag of bread scraps. "I thought we could feed them," he beamed. "Bard was gonna throw these out."

"Um, okay." Even after all this time at the manor, Andie still wasn't a girl of many words.

"Here, I'll show you."

Finnian threw some of the bread scraps towards the sparrows, which they fought over eagerly. He then dropped more at his and Andie's feet. Several of the birds hopped closer, displaying no signs of fear.

Finnian grabbed another handful of bread and this time held them out in his hand with his palm facing upwards. Andie watched in amazement as a few of the sparrows started to peck the bread out of his hand without any further coaxing.

"Now you try," said Finnian, seeing the look on Andie's face. "Drop some closer to your feet first and then hold your hand out flat on the ground. Just make sure you don't move too quickly."

"Right."

Andie took some bread from the bag and sprinkled crumbs on the ground around her. She kept the rest in her hand, holding it flat against the grass like Finnian had told her. Sure enough, more of the sparrows began to take the scraps right out of her hand.

One even hopped up onto her fingertips to try and get the best selection. Andie tried her hardest not to move, still watching in fascination. She couldn't believe how friendly they seemed. "They're not scared of me!"

Finnian smiled, pleased that she seemed happy. "They just need to learn to trust. I've been feeding them every day so they're quite used to people!" After they'd gone through almost all of the bread scraps he then added, "Come with me. I want to show you something."

"Okay." Andie tipped the last of the scraps from her hand onto the grass, which were quickly gobbled up by the surrounding sparrows. Once the bread was gone they turned back to picking for worms. They clearly weren't too fussy as to where their meal came from.