m i s t

He sensed the shikigami circling above him.

Immaterial, powerful, wings spread in a handsome curve, it emitted a shrill cry upon locating its target. Shifting the angle of its trajectory, the eagle veered towards him.

Subaru watched, impassive, as the bird dropped out from the sky. He held out his hand when it got near enough, and without the slightest bit of hesitation, the eagle curled its sharp talons around his wrist and proceeded to perch itself there. It tilted its head almost questioningly while it folded its wings to achieve a more dignified position.

"Well, you found me," Subaru said lightly. The bird's speckled wings were brushing across his face, tickling him. Despite himself, a faint smile touched his lips. The shikigami was having a little trouble balancing itself; probably the perch, Subaru reasoned. After all, the eagle's master certainly had more flesh than he did. He saw no reason to apologize, but he went ahead anyway, out of sheer habit. "I'm sorry. Perhaps you'd like to perch somewhere else?"

The eagle tucked its left wing securely and shifted its grip. That done, it blinked up at him.

Subaru raised his other hand and moved it across the eagle's back in a gentle stroke. Its feathers were a rich, warm brown, dotted with white spots, giving the impression of a snow-speckled mountain. He felt like he was touching liquid silk. Enemy or no, the shikigami was undeniably beautiful.

Hardly surprising, knowing whose shikigami it was.

It didn't seem to mind him touching it, but when Subaru's fingers passed within reach of its beak, the eagle neatly plucked the lit cigarette from his fingers and chucked it away. Surprised, Subaru let a soft chuckle escape. "Try that with your master, why don't you?"

The eagle squawked and bobbed its head. Subaru teased the velvety tuft of non-existent down on the eagle's breast. The bird felt so real, even though he knew it was just animated mist, willed to life by magic. He looked into the bird's golden-brown eyes, so reminiscent of the other�.

His quiet sigh stirred the eagle's feathers. Its grip on his wrist tightened subtly, as if calling back his attention. Failing which, the eagle stretched a wing and dipped it to touch Subaru's cheek.

Like a hand's tender caress�.

Subaru turned back to the eagle as it refolded its wing. The setting sun's golden rays flowed over the sculpted contours of the eagle's body, highlighting the sleek indications of muscles. As he studied it, the bird craned its neck to look up at the sky, fast becoming restless, wings eager to test the evening wind.

"You have to go now, huh?" Subaru murmured, stroking the bird. At the rather enthusiastic nod, the onmyouji smiled once more. Carefully he leaned in, lips pressing a gentle kiss on the eagle's brow, the bird passively accepting. "Go then."

The eagle leapt off his wrist as soon as he held his arm out, wings beating as it wheeled higher into the sky. It squawked a final time - a farewell call, perhaps - and vanished into the horizon as a brown streak across the soaring heavens.

~~

The shikigami landed on the besuited arm, wings stretched to their fullest. This was a familiar perch. Its master absently ran a hand over its ruffled feathers, pausing when he reached its head.

"Typical," its master said softly.

The eagle made an enquiring noise, to which its master replied by dropping a kiss at the exact place the other had.