Work Text:
"The wind carries rumors."
Raising his head to the blue skies, the young man found the source of the voice. Extending one arm, he allowed the brilliantly-colored scarlet kingbird to settle upon his hand. It was gentle, taking care not to pierce the young man's skin with its talons.
"Rumors?"
With a flick of its tail, the bird bobbed its head. "Indeed, indeed. The west wind tells us the past, the east wind tells us the future - the wind tells us your stories."
A small smile. "Yeah? What sorts of stories?"
"Travels to distant places, meetings and partings." The lesser kingbird ruffled its feathers suddenly. "Even with our wings to carry us, we could never see the world the way you have."
The young man laughed. "Soaring through the skies isn't enough for you?"
Another tailflick, although the boy couldn't tell if it was annoyance or amusement. "We see it from above, while you experience it."
"I understand. So, what about the east wind?"
Silence.
"... hm? Is something the matter?"
Still quiet, the kingbird suddenly busied itself with preening its crimson plumage. Its movements were sharp and twitchy, as if it were tense.
Finally: "-- it speaks of humans."
The young man became silent then. His smile faded slightly, replaced by a somewhat-grim expression. "... aha. That."
"The wind did not tell us anything we did not already know. The rebirth of humans is inevitable; as the world expands, so do the creatures upon it." the kingbird continued. "Without them, the world would simply be incomplete."
It stretched its wings, spreading them to their fullest. The young man wondered if it was going to take flight and disappear among the clouds, but it slowly folded its wings once more, then looked back at the boy. "... the resurrection of humans will be done. The world will not be the same afterwards."
A pause. "For better and for worse," the young man said softly, "the world will never be the same."
The kingbird bowed its head. "Exactly."
"... tell me," began the young man, "please." The bird looked at him with curiosity, and, after swallowing thickly, the boy continued in a heavy voice: "If it weren't a matter of what had to be done, would you revive humankind?"
The kingbird started, taken aback by such a question. Unconsciously it tightened its grip on the young man, talons pressing into flesh, but the boy didn't flinch. Ruffling its feathers furiously, the kingbird attempted to settle back down and calm itself. It snapped its beak once. "What a foolish thing to say."
"That's not an answer."
Tail thrashing about, the bird briefly took on an indignant air. This dissipated quickly, however, once it had a chance to fully regain its composure. "... if it did not need to be done, then no," it answered, matter-of-factly, "I would not."
A slow nod. "I see. ... thank you."
"How-ev-er!" the bird snapped, extending one wing. "You, my friend, do not have the luxury of saying 'no'. The fact remains that humans must walk the earth once more, and therein lies your duty!"
The young man was momentarily surprised by this near-commanding, but he only laughed. "Oh, no. I understand that." he soothed, the smile returning to his face. "Really, I do. It was just... curiosity, I guess."
The kingbird bobbed its head again. "Good, good. You must not be swayed by the selfish opinions of another."
"Selfish?"
Finally relaxing its grip, the kingbird tilted its head to one side. "Do you not find it so? We - the birds and the beasts - are masters of the land, the sea, and the air. We are in balance with the world, each believing that there is none greater than ourselves.
"However, with humans, it is... different. We remember what they are capable of, and what they will do in our world -- to our world. When humans are reborn, they will become the new kings of the land."
The kingbird's eyes softened - were it possible, the young man would have expected it to smile. "Therefore, is it not selfish to wish for the world to remain as it is, simply so one can continue to stay 'on top'?"
A laugh, lightly amused. "A king would never wanna be anything but a king. Maybe it's selfish, but it's also natural."
"... 'natural'? I would not think it so." the bird responded slowly.
The young man grinned. "Hmm, maybe you wouldn't."
The kingbird spread its wings again, and a tensing of its legs told the boy that this time it would, indeed, be taking off. Hurriedly, before the bird had a chance to take to the skies: "Thanks again, for answering my question."
"Of course." replied the bird. "I wish you well, friend. Even when we will no longer be equals in this world, you will be remembered. By wing and claw, petal and fin, you will be remembered as one of us."
A sad smile crossed the young man's face. "... thank you. I sure won't forget the time I spent with any of you, either."
A flutter of color, and the kingbird took flight.
"... by hand and heart," the young man breathed, "you will be remembered."
"Oiii, pick up the pace, Ark! Draggin' your feet isn't gonna get us anywhere!"
"Easy for you to say!" Ark growled, heaving himself up onto a rocky outcropping. He wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand, flicking beads of perspiration off to the side. "You don't even have feet!"
Flitting about noisily, Yomi suddenly loomed in close, hovering right in front of the young man's face until Ark, deciding the creature was far too close for comfort, swatted him back. "Don't be so literal!" Yomi chided, lolling about in midair. "It's not myyy fault you silly people weren't born with anything but spindly little sticks to walk on!"
A snort. "I'll show you 'spindly little sticks'..." Ark muttered, making a mental note to see how far he could punt the small pink blob, next time he had the chance. He pushed himself back to his feet and let out a short huff of air. "Ah- I'm tired of climbing already~"
Craning his neck, he tried to see to the top of the next cliff, but only succeeded in making himself slightly dizzy from the height of it all. He couldn't find the next ledge to climb towards, but...
... up among the clouds, he could see a flicker of scarlet and violet as one solitary bird soared through a sea of sky blue.
Ark smiled then. "Well, I haveta be sure to give the west wind something to talk about, don't I?" he smirked, firmly gripping the rough stone of the cliffside. "Let's make this a story to remember!"
Narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow, Yomi looked at Ark as if the young man had suddenly sprouted an extra head - and possibly a few spare arms as well. "... what are you talking about?" he asked as the boy began his ascent with renewed vigor.
"Nothing, Yomi. It's just-" Ark answered, placing hand over hand. "... heh, just something I heard on the wind."
The eastern winds were silent.
The western winds had sung the finale.
Perched on the highest branch of the tallest tree, a kingbird gazed at the world all around it. Teeming, bursting, full of life and full of light. It was over, but it was just beginning.
From the south, a warm breeze blew over the lands. The grasses swayed, the leaves rustled, and the soft white clouds galloped across the clear blue skies.
At the head of the winds, leading them in their travels, a single bird soared. Its wings were outstretched to the fullest, catching the updrafts effortlessly. This bird was a clean white in color, a white so unbelievably pure that, to the kingbird, it even outshone the clouds.
Slowly, the kingbird began to understand. And it raised its voice in song:
"You will be remembered as one of us."