WARNINGS: none for now

Note: All characters are aged up, since there will be mature themes in future parts.

Also, I can't promise I'll finish this. I suck at finishing stories.

Note 2: I worry that maybe these birds don't fit their counterparts well, since no one correctly guessed them all ;-; I made Riddle a flamingo only because of the Queen of Hearts' flamingos, and I thought he'd like to be one, if he had to choose LOL

Note 3: You have probably already guessed that the heart system means how quickly they're becoming yandere. Please keep in mind some with gain hearts faster or slower than the others.

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Today would be a more relaxed day, as you only had one exhibit to visit. The birds were all separated by wire fences, but they were all part of one big aviary. Tomorrow, you'd be working with the three remaining exhibits all at once, so you were glad to have this day of respite.

The bird keeper was a kind older lady. She gave you a bunch of salads, with notes as to which one belonged to which bird. The salads with shrimp were obviously for the flamingos, but the other salads were a bit harder to remember.

You walked into the aviary, a large plastic container with the separate salads under your arm. The birds were all wide awake, with the exception of the owl, whose green hair was just barely visible from where he had covered his head with one of his wings to sleep.

"Hey! I want to eat first!" A voice cried out to you, "Hey, lady with the food, over here!"

You were surprised to hear such fluent English from a halfling, but when you turned your head to the source of the calls, you immediately understood.

Parrot halflings caught onto human languages quickly. That didn't necessarily make them smarter than other halflings, it was simply something they were naturally good at. This parrot halfling had mostly-orange wings to match his hair, although the tips of his wings tapered off to yellow and then a vibrant blue.

The parrot gazed at you curiously for a moment, before his expression became more mischievous, "Guten morgen? Ohayo? Buen día? Zǎoshang hǎo? Dobroye utro?"

"Good morning to you too, show off," you laughed, walking up to him, "I assume you're the salad with sunflower seeds?"

He grinned, "That's me! I'm starving!"

You felt like you were talking with a human, and that fact made you feel a little sick inside. Should an animal with the ability to converse so normally really be confined to a wire cage?

You rummaged through the plastic container, looking for the salad with seeds. The parrot halfling spread his beautiful wings and flew onto a perch closer to you, his talons curling around the wood as he impatiently waited for his meal.

Finally, you found the correct salad and handed it over to him. His eyes lit up and he snatched it from you.

"Thanks!" He said with a grin. Before you could ask him his name, he spread his wings and flew into an enormous birdhouse to eat there. A little disappointed that you couldn't have a conversation with him, you turned to the raven in the cage next to him.

"Hello! I brought you a salad!" You called out to the raven halfling. He walked over to the edge of the exhibit and tilted his head, looking you over curiously.

You found his salad fairly quickly, as it was accented with bright red apple slices. The raven drew closer and you admired how his feathers and matching hair color were not black, but a dark blue that seemed to shine in the early sunlight.

"What's your name?" You asked as he took the salad from you.

He grabbed the salad and held it close to him, as though someone may steal it. It took him a few moments to process your question before he answered, "Deuce."

You knew that ravens were normally very intelligent animals. But with the way Deuce took so long to answer and the way he struggled with the plastic packaging, you had a feeling that the same could not be said for the halflings.

Deuce struggled with the packaging a little while more before he handed it back to you and, with a blush settling on his cheeks, muttered a small, "Help."

You opened it for him with a smile, "No need to be embarrassed, Deuce, it can be tricky to open sometimes."

He nodded, but you weren't sure he actually understood you. Either way, he seemed happy enough to have his salad open for him. Similar to the parrot halfling, he retreated to his birdhouse to eat his meal.

You decided to try giving the owl his meal next, although you weren't sure you would be able to wake him. You would feel bad if you disturbed his rest.

However, you had no need to worry, because the owl halfling was awake and alert when you approached his cage. You rummaged through the salads for the one with grilled chicken chunks in it and found it quickly. The other salads had either shrimp or were plain, saved specifically for the flamingos and peacocks respectively.

You handed over the chicken salad and the owl halfling smiled politely at you, giving you a gentle, "Thank you."

Unlike the parrot and raven halflings, he did not open his salad and dig in, but instead put it aside for later. Upon noticing your confused look, he explained, "I'm saving it for nighttime."

You nodded but secretly wondered why they wouldn't just feed him at night only. After all, that's the time owls hunt. But you supposed it made it easier to just feed everyone at the same time instead of making any exceptions.

Pretty lazy, in your opinion.

Next was the flamingos, and you approached their enclosure in awe. Their feathers were a soft, beautiful pink and, instead of the talons you were used to seeing on bird halflings, they had bare feet much like a human's, just with webbing between the toes.

"Shrimp salads, anyone?" You jokingly asked the two flamingos.

One of them, the one with light orange hair, flew over with such excitement that you took a step back, "You're new!"

"Yes, I'm filling in for the morning meal today!" You said cheerfully.

"How exciting!" The flaming gasped, "That's exciting, isn't it, Riddle?"

The other flamingo, a more serious-looking man with red hair, cautiously watched you. He did not respond to the more enthusiastic flamingo.

"Let me just..." the orange-haired flamingo took a salad from you, opened the container, and began methodically arranging the shrimp and lettuce until it looked like it was something out of Chef Ramsey's kitchen, "Perfect! Hashtag delicious!"

You stared at him, wondering where he'd learned to talk like a teenage girl. Riddle, annoyed by his fellow flamingo's behavior, snapped at him, "You don't have a phone. Stop with that 'hashtag' nonsense."

You were shocked to hear a halfling besides a parrot speak so fluently, not to mention so prim and proper sounding. Handing over a salad to Riddle, you asked the other flamingo, "What's your name?"

"Cater!" He said with a proud smile, as though his name was an accomplishment. You couldn't help but giggle at his antics, which seemed to deepen Riddle's frown.

"I have to give the peacocks their salads now," you told Cater.

"Bye-bye!" Cater said cheerfully, waving as you walked away.

The peacock enclosure was certainly something to behold. It had a huge fountain and ornate fencing. You tried to wave the three peacocks over, but they refused to come to you. Remembering what Mr. Crowley had said about them being a little cocky, you sighed and opened the gate.

You carried the large plastic container over to them and, with a smile, you held out a salad to the closest one. The tall flamingo gave you a disdainful look, but took the salad all the same. The one with a bowl cut took his with a closed-eyed smile, "Merci, mademoiselle."

French? You wondered where he had learned French and if he spoke any English. Moving on from that thought, you handed the last salad over to a slightly timid-looking, small and adorable lilac-haired peacock.

All of the peacocks had beautiful white feathers in a fan shape protruding from their backs. You couldn't help but admire them, despite the way they didn't seem all too interested in you.

"What are your names?" You asked.

The one with blond-to-lilac hair turned his back on you and walked away with his salad. The one with completely lilac hair merely offered you an "Epel" before following after him.

The one with a bowl cut placed a hand on his chest and, with a large smile, introduced himself, "I am Rook," He pointed at the retreating back of the first peacock and said, "Vil".

"Vil is his name?" You clarified. Rook nodded in response. You wondered if he knew more French than English.

Either way, you were done feeding them for the day, so it was on to studying them.