Soren always felt as if he were dreaming when he let his owl form take over. He was there on the inside, watching the trees down below and feeling the cold wind rush through his feathers, but his instincts always took front and center when he changed from boy to bird. 

It had always been an indescribable sensation until his dad let him listen to Numb by Pink Floyd when he was a kid, and that's when it clicked. Just like in the song, he'd had a fever when he was a child, and his whole body felt like it was levitating. Days had vanished during that time as he searched for a way to reconcile his human and avian memories until, eventually, he discovered a way to blend both halves of himself together.

Soren glides silently over the treetops now in search of Rocky, but it was always almost impossible to find him when he was in his owl form. His feathers were this grayish-brown colour like tree bark and blended into the leaves like a hunter camouflaged from head to toe, and when he sat up tall, he literally looked like a branch with eyes.

Fortunately, he knew Rocky better than anyone, and almost all of his hiding spots. When they were kids, they'd often snuck off to play in the woods, both as humans and as owls, bouncing around trees and clamoring over rocky rivers as they chased one another through the forest.

One place in particular, Rocky always returned to, it never failed. 

Soren lands on a dead tree branch, wings flapping, and stares across at an abandoned children's home, just across a field of dried grass that blew back and forth in the wind. The yellow brick walls and childlike paintings of a cartoon city had faded in the sun. This was where Rocky had spent the first few years of his life before moving in with the Moons.

Soren flies down from the tree and slips into his human form before starting through the field, toward the abandoned building. "Rocky!" He calls, shoving stalks of dried grass aside as he stumbles forward. "It's Soren! You in here?"

A couple of doves explode out from the partially fallen roof and Soren jumps back in surprise before pushing open the wooden door. 

On the other side, a hallway opens up to the front desk, and broken toys are scattered about. Faded light spills in through a window on the ceiling, and Soren starts forward, searching for Rocky among the rotting ruins. "Rocklin! Come out, please! I just want to talk!"

"Hoo-hoo!" 

Soren whirls around and spots an owl perched on a broken crib, feathers smoothed down, his large yellow eyes half-lidded. "Whoo!" Rocky rasps at Soren in his windy voice.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Soren replies, jamming his hands into his pockets, "Why did you fly off like that? You didn't even give me a chance to explain."

Rocky turns his head away and snaps his beak, a clear sign that he was perturbed. 

Soren exhales a little and glances around the decrepit building. It was hard to believe this is the place where Rocky had grown up and taken an owl form by himself, without anybody there to help him through the change. On top of that, Rocky had been born with diabetes and had needed insulin shots from a young age. It was a miracle he hadn't died.

Soren walks over to Rocky, who doesn't move an ear tuft, even when he leans in close to him so that his face is inches from him. "Darling," he whispers, "let me tell you a secret." 

Rocky doesn't move an inch. He was as still as a tree branch, but he was listening. 

"In my dreams, we're always kissing," Soren whispers to him.

The owl flies down from the broken crib all at once, and Rocky shifts so that he's human, dressed in a bright blue leotard, fists clenched. "Damn you!" He hisses at Soren, "Damn you to hell, Soren Shay! You know that always gets me!" 

"What?" Soren replies not so innocently, and he leans back a little when Rocky storms over.

"Your voice!" Rocky snaps, and he jams a finger into Soren's chest, "Poetry! Your eyes and that dumb, gorgeous hair!" 

"Aw. Is the baby mad?" Soren grins slowly, but Rocky doesn't give him a chance to smile all the way. The next thing he knows, they're kissing, and Rocky has his hands in Soren's hair, tangling his fingers as if he never wanted to let go.

Soren falls back into one of the rooms, almost tripping over himself when Rocky shoves him backward and slams the door closed behind them. "Now, Soren," Rocky whispers frantically, and the other boy peels off the straps to his leotard, revealing his freckled shoulders. "Now. Take me now."