We'll Make the Best of This (Bowen)

Thump.

Lin's chin thwacked against the carpet, the perch not too far behind him, collapsing beside his fallen body. Suppressing an irritated groan, the adolescent hauled himself back onto his feet, shaking himself off. "S-sorry Barlow," he murmured as the obviously annoyed barn owl, whom of which was previously resting atop the perch that had toppled, ruffled his feathers, nipping at his bandaged left wing. "I'll change it, don't worry, just let me make sure that everything is ready," Lin assured the avian, leaning down and allowing Barlow to climb onto his shoulder.

Lin scanned the room, dissecting every detail. Perches of all shapes and sizes lined one of the walls, along with a few card board boxes interconnected with paper towel tubes. Various sets of climbing posts inhabited a corner, while bundles of blankets and boxes with lowered walls filled with shavings sat along the floor beside Lin's bed. His closet was half open, and within were bags of differentiated feeds, extra pieces for posts or perches, wire cages, and a small rack that Lin's clothes hung from. The rest of the dorm room was relatively clean; the carpet vacuumed, the kitchen area swept and scrubbed, the bathroom disinfected. Stepping forward and setting Barlow down, the brunette turned to face his side of the room, clicking his tongue to get the residents attention. A black-footed ferret appeared from within a cardboard box, looking up at Lin. A few songbirds ascended onto the perches, along with a crow, a mouse, and, of course, Barlow. Lastly, a tiny scarlet tanager known as Ruby sleepily crawled out of Lin's jacket's hood, sitting on his shoulder.

"As you all know," Lin began. "W-we, um we're getting a roommate.. uh, today," he spoke as cheerfully as he could muster, even flashing an unconvincing thumbs up. "And that means.. Well, to be blunt, we'll have to all be more considerate of that," Lin motioned with a pointed index finger to the other side of the room. "Side of the room, because it'll be his." A few sounds of minor protest filled the room. "How are we supposed to heal properly with another human invading our private space?" The crow, called Elliot, expressed dramatically, looking down at his damaged right foot. "I promise, it won't be so bad. You'll still have everything, and I'll still take care of you, you know that." Lin explained, giving a smile. "Also," he said, oddly stern at first, "Be kind to him. No pulling any shenanigans... please?" Lin requested politely, tapping the tips of his fingers together. The creatures did not seem thrilled, but they all took this into thought, and nodded silently.

Suddenly, Lin's heart set ablaze at a quick speed. He had to make himself look presentable! He scampered into the bathroom, shoving his fingers into his hair and combing through it messily. He brushed off his clothing, which consisted of his hoodie, of course, a light grey t-shirt, and baggy jeans. "Well, it'll have to do," Lin mentally decided. Leaving the bathroom and shutting the door, he strolled over to his bed, sitting down, only then noticing that he was trembling slightly. Ruby tweeted, nuzzling Lin's neck with his beak.

Tags: @"Bowen"

"speech" - Lin speaking aloud
"speech" - Lin thinking
"speech" - Animal's speaking

Lin fumbled with his fingers, awaiting his new roommate's arrival. Eventually, the sound of footsteps grazed his eardrums. A familiar feeling washed over his frame, his breath caught in his throat, and his rib cage felt like it was suffocating his lungs. He pulled at his jacket sleeves. "Lin, you're okay. It's okay. It'll be fine," Ruby spoke, attempting to reassure his friend, nestling in the crook of his neck. "I-I know I just,-" before Lin could finish his sentence, the door opened, and he bit his lip.

There, in front of him stood an odd, yet intimidating looking individual. Taller than Lin, no doubt, but with multi-colored hair. But his eyes seemed to bore into Lin's body, and a shiver rippled through his form. "I hope there's space for a few more in here," the person spoke. Lin had no idea if he was meaning to be sarcastic or not; he was petrified. Instinctively lowering his head ever so slightly, the teen muttered, "D-don't worry, there's.. plenty of.. plenty of room." Ruby seemed visibly bothered by the other boy's presence, his crimson feathers now disheveled. The person, whom of which Lin now realized he had no idea what his name was, spoke again, but Lin was not listening.

There, behind the newcomer, was a stallion. A small grin pulled at the sides of Lin's lips, and only grew when he saw the fox-like creature. Vinilyn, the black-footed ferret, crawled from his residence curiously, crawling onto the bed and sitting somewhat apprehensively beside Lin, ears twitching. The young brunette had nothing to say, so he just sat there awkwardly, eyeing the two entities, as if he had forgotten about his roommate completely.

@"Bowen"

Lin snapped back into reality when the rather mysterious individual shifted. He pulled his hands into his sleeves, lifting his legs into a criss-cross position on his bed. Vinilyn wriggled his way onto Lin's lap, meeting his gaze. "Don't you think he's a little creepy?" muttered the weasel in discomfort. "No, no Vinilyn, that's rude. Remember what I said? Don't judge a book by its cover," Lin replied confidently, but as quietly as he could. The ferret nodded silently, but still looked unsure.

The fox creature had come to sit with him. Lin felt a bit better about the situation, as he could acquaint with them rather than the human, though Lin at least wanted to try to get to know the other boy a little bit. Ruby fluttered down and perched on Lin's knee, viewing the fox curiously. Suddenly, the fox began to speak. Lin blinked and met the creatures eyes.

So the boy's name was Leander. The fox is Dubhrach, and the stallion, or nightmare, was Calis. The fox spoke a bit more, but there was something.. off in his tone. Lin could not pinpoint it, and decided to put it off, not wanting to seem accusing. He knew about the Zoolingualism. Lin smiled, but felt Ruby tense up. The brunette reached his hands over to the avian and gently opened the tanager's right wing, massaging the inner feathers, attempting to ease him. Ruby settled down, seemingly less anxious. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dubhrach," Lin stated politely, though a sliver of him felt nervous about the entire ordeal. Vinilyn latched onto Lin's jacket, crawling up his sleeve and draping himself across his shoulders, almost.. in a protective way.

@"Bowen"

Vinilyn's lithe body seemed to tense as Dubhrach left. His tiny, hook-like claws dug into Lin's clothing, the tips pricking his skin, but not yet puncturing. Lin crooked his head so he could view the other creatures settled behind him. They seemed somewhat apprehensive, but otherwise indifferent and simply frustrated at the thought of sharing. Ruby sat comfortably on the adolescent's knee, seemingly tired, nuzzling his small beak into the fuzzy feathers on his chest. None of them displayed the anxiety of the weasel, and Lin pondered, trying to decide what to do about it. He swiveled his options within his psyche, but left Vinilyn alone.

So Dubhrach would return. Leander had said he would be back. Lin smiled a little; he had enjoyed acquainting with the fox. He also hoped to converse with Calis at some point, and made a mental note to do so, or try, at least. Lin was, admittedly, a bit nervous about approaching the stallion, as he had no idea what a 'nightmare' was or was capable of. But the feeling soon faded, after all, had he not approached wolves and other potentially dangerous creatures in the past?

Leander then asked for his name.

Lin hesitated at first. It was silly, he knew, to be nervous about revealing your name. But he felt his name was a cover, like plastic around glass. Lin scolded himself for being rather over-dramatic about such a notion. "Linford. But you can call me Lin, if you'd like," he answered in one breath, preventing a stutter. Vinilyn tensed further at this, his minuscule claws finally piercing the skin of the brunette's shoulder. Lin bit his inner cheek, lifting two fingers and gingerly removing the ferret's paws from his shoulder, muttering ever so silently for him to calm down.

@"Bowen"