30 days later

Today the sun shone, and the wind whistled through the mountain spikes just as every day had before. They burnt and eroded the dunes and rocks, respectively, like a constant attack on Zerca itself. The constant fact of life here is simple: nothing much changes. But today something was different. Desert walked and climbed up the steep dunes to where his shack was perched, and he quickly pushed the door open to get inside.

He seemed slightly frantic, with a surprising amount of energy considering his busy routine. That was because inside his shack, sat a ball of gray-brown feathery fluff inside a box on his wooden desk. Two eyes opened from said fluff, and then a beak, which let out a screech. One odd feather curled out from atop his head, which Desert thought was amusing.

“Ah, thank goodness...” Desert smiled widely and brought his belongings inside.

The ball of fluff was Tovii; he had hatched over two weeks ago. And in that time he had grown significantly larger than he was when he hatched. The chick fumbled his way out of the box he sat inside, which he was too short to do just a couple of days ago.

Desert chuckled and sat next to the desk, “I’ve noticed you’ve gotten bigger these last couple of days,” he said, “so I’m gonna have to start finding some bigger food for you, huh?”

Tovii waddled his way along the desk and screeched at Desert once again and flailed his young “wings”, although they looked more like weird hairy arms to Desert.

“Yes yes, I know, you’re hungry. You’re always hungry.” Desert smiled once more and rummaged around his saddlebag.

So far it seemed Desert was quite a natural at this bird rearing stuff; Tovii was nice and big for his age, there were no signs of any illness that the book he rented mentioned present on him, Tovii hadn’t tried to escape or anything. Things were good. Desert’s new cutie mark definitely wasn’t lying.

From his bag Desert pulled out a small pouch, “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else, having these things crawling around my stuff. Consider yourself lucky.” He said patronizingly to Tovii, who nodded his head up and down in that strange bird-like way. In the pouch were dead bugs, like locusts and centipedes that Desert had scavenged.

Presenting them to Tovii, they lasted less than a second each.

“That’s gross.” Desert chuckled.

The stallion leant back on his chair as Tovii ate his lunch, and his mind began to wander. Having Tovii around changed things, he thought. It was strange. No longer did he see things through the lens of a pessimist, most of the time at least. When he had finished restocking the Aavirk’s and scouting any new temple sights, he didn’t have that regretful feeling of leaving the desert with nothing done and nothing achieved. Now he had something to go home to, a project, or a pet even. He thought positive things and felt excitement at what may happen in the coming months.

No matter if today didn’t work out, tomorrow is another day. After all, now Desert had the responsibility of taking care of Tovii. He had actual duties to attend to at home. Sometimes Desert brought the chick along his adventures.

Desert ate his own lunch of fruit and berries gathered near the oasis beyond Kalvika Ta. He watched the small eagle carefully and thought about the events that had brought them here.

“At the risk of sounding, well, stupid talking to a bird...these last couple of weeks could have been very different,” Desert said with a light blush, “because you really weren’t meant to be with me. It was a chance that I found that job, that I found you, that I changed my mind, and that we survived the trip.”

Tovii had finished his lunch by this point and sat amidst a pile of down fluff. Desert had noticed the feathers gathering on the floor and sides and needed to sweep them out. However, he carried on, “I’m just saying, it could have very easily turned out that I never found you and then you...well, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to hear what would have happened to you.”

Tovii screeched at Desert as some form of reply, and Desert smiled in return. “Exactly, probably. But all that lead me to finding my mark, which was a surprise. I had completely forgot that I hadn’t found it yet. At first, I was worried it conflicted with what I currently do. Or what I want to do, is more appropriate. But I’ve realised now that it’s not some sort of mistake or disappointment. I mean sure I may have preferred a compass or something, but this is my mark, and it’s who I am. It’s most definitely not going to stop me from what I’m doing; all it means is I’ve got a companion to do it with.”

Tovii obviously didn’t understand a word of Desert’s ramblings, but that’s not why he said it. “It is not what I thought it would be, but that’s ok. This can still work.” He said, but brought his hoof up to his chin and rubbed it anxiously. “That is, if you decide to stay with me.”

Tovii waddled forward and nearly tumbled off the side of the desk to the floor, but caught himself on Desert’s lap just about. The stallion leant forward to make sure he was ok, but instead Tovii climbed up and perched himself on Desert’s front leg. His talons, sharp for his age, clung to Desert’s fur.

He smiled at the small bird, “I guess, what I’m saying is, thank you. I’m not going to waste the opportunity that this mark presents me. I could visit Irus again perhaps, show him the mark, maybe that organization could hire me. With a feather mark, why wouldn’t he? I could be some sort of vet or carer...but that wouldn’t leave much space for Zerca, huh?”

Tovii screeched once more.

“Hmmm. If he hired me, I may have to stop refilling the Aavirks too. I’m sure nobody will miss the dry food and hot water there. I mean it’s probably the animals who take all the stuff in there anyway, right? I’ve lived here a long time; I’ve filled those stops for like 3 years at this point, and how many times have I seen anyone in them? Maybe thirty times in those three years? Ten times a year...”

Desert hadn’t talked so much at home in a very long time. He drank from his canteen and poured some out onto his hoof for the chick, who happily pecked at it and drank.

He let out a sigh. “Man...I didn’t really realise how much of my life I’ve...wasted, doing this stuff...”

Tovii peered up at the stallion, his face wet from his particularly ungraceful drinking method, but Desert didn’t meet his eyes. “Three years...eleven years, you could even say.”

Desert stood from the chair with his leg raised for Tovii to remain perched upon, and shook his head. “No, now’s not the time for that. If you stay after all, it could all be worth it in the end.”

35 days later

The time had come.

Desert held Tovii on his leg, perched there with his talons, that single stray feather still atop his head was his only remaining feature from his youth as he was now fully grown into a young adult capable of life on his own. That feather on his head is how you told Tovii apart from any other tawny. The young eagle seemed content, but Desert on the other hand was weary and anxious.

This was the correct thing to do, what Desert knew he had to do from the day he took home the egg. If Tovii didn't want to stay, then the humane thing for him would be to set him free. Desert hated thinking about that; he dreaded the day he had to do it. But that day was today.

He had hoped, and nearly prayed that Tovii would choose to stick around, but at the end of it all the decision came down to Tovii. If he leaves, then he leaves. If he did leave, Desert had crafted a sort of earring from a pair of Tovii’s lost feathers as a way of remembering him. He had only had Tovii for a few months, but the chick had made such a significant impact on Desert’s life in that short space of time. Perhaps because Desert saw barely anyone else out here.

Desert stood at the cliff edge near his house and held his leg out. "Okay Tovii...this is it."

The bird cocked his head and looked around over the vast Zercan desert. He squawked, shaking his wings about. Tovii had been let out to fly before, but he was always considered young enough to return for food and water. Now though, not so much.

Desert closed his eyes and extended his leg further. Desert kept thinking that if Tovii left now, there was no chance he would come back. He would likely be interested in finding a mate at this time in his life, and it’s not like he had any particular compulsion in returning to the stallion who reared him. It’s not like Tovii was a pony after all.

Desert breathed out deeply, and kept his eyes shut. With a push, the eagle let go of Desert’s leg and pumped his wings, bringing up dust and sand at Desert's hoofs as he took off.

And from there he flew away.

Desert put his hoof down after a few seconds and opened his eyes. Tovii flew high over the cliff edge and soared on the ancestral winds, banking and spiralling in beautiful grace.

Desert watched him fly further and further away than he had before as he became little more than a dot in the dusty sky. It took a disturbingly short time for that dot to disappear completely.

Desert nodded to himself quietly in acceptance as the feathers bristled against his ear in the wind. He felt his heart beating in the pit of his stomach. "Goodbye," he spoke carefully.

He knew it was wishful thinking. How could you be so stupid, thinking a bird could help you in some sort of crazy delusional adventure fantasy anyway? What was he going to do, carry a torch through the bowels of an ancient temple? He was a wild animal, not a robot.

Desert eventually turned and quietly walked back into his shack and closed the door slower than he normally would. He stared into his home; feathers swirled and blowed in the gust let in by the opening of the door.

He stood still for a few minutes and watched those feathers. There was no scurrying of talon against wood to greet Desert now that he was inside, nor a screech to signify a hungry lodger that needed feeding, not even the frantic flapping of young wings for no real reason Desert could deduce. It was just quiet. He sat down on his mattress and looked out of the square "window" cut out of his wooden wall.

He watched the dusty clouds swirl and race across the sky, white and gold. He found himself deep in his thoughts once again.

He was defeated. His eyes wandered to Zerca, but he wasn't overwhelmed at the golden beauty this time around. No, this time it felt gray. Maybe Irus was correct all those months ago, maybe his parents were right to suggest he find his home elsewhere, maybe all his friends were right about this place.

In the face of disappointment and maybe even failure, the whistling spiritual wind just didn't sound the same, and nor did the tip of Kalvika Ta in the distance look the same. After a few minutes, sick of the view, he slumped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling above him. It felt like he just laid there for hours.

But, the noise of gripping talons scraping against dry wood sounded. To Desert that might as well have been the sound of heaven’s bells. His eyes shot for the window, where Tovii clung to its sill and squawked at him, the single stray feather atop his head dancing in the gusts.

Desert felt his heart rate pump faster; he had no idea how to react. Was he just seeing things? He always knew he was sort of crazy in a way.

But no, this was very real. The stallion shot up from his bed and sighed in relief, "...I spoke too soon. I always speak too soon, huh? Man...dad always said I was a pessimist." He said with a smile to Tovii, who hopped onto his worktop from the windowsill. He made a mess of the stuff on it, but Desert couldn't care less. He moved from the bed and grasped his staff in his hoof.

"Alright then. In that case, let’s get to work. Me, and you. Let’s put this place on the map.”

Squawk!

Author's Note

Thank you for reading!
Before making this story it had been a fair few years since I last tried my hand at writing, and in retrospective while I am proud of the work I did, it had errors and faults. Common mistakes that I would have avoided had I took the time to research basic writing rules, along with the fact that I was unhappy with the direction I took my characters. This story probably has issues too, but it allows me to springboard off into the bigger and more exciting stories I want to tell, where I can include more of my characters. Whenever I decide to take to writing again, of course, I'm not sure when that will be.
But that's why I wrote this one: to get started.

Anyway thank you for reading, any and all criticisms and opinions are welcome.