Chapter Text
Was the falcon following her, or was she being paranoid?
Sara had always been a bit skeptical about the whole concept of soulmates. It seemed like a bad idea to let fate dictate whom you had to spend the rest of your life with, especially since being soulmates wasn’t a guarantee of being happy together. She saw proof of this in her father and mother – they’d been led to each other when they were in their late teens, and they still fought all the time. She personally believed that the only reason they were still together was because it was customary. Still, she couldn’t help but keep an eye out for the animal that would supposedly lead her to her destiny. Could the strange falcon be it?
Her older sister, Laurel, still hadn’t been approached by her animal, so Sara was hesitant about going to her with questions. Instead, she brought it up with her friend while they were eating lunch in the courtyard.
“Why don’t you just go up to it?” Helena was always the pragmatist. “If it’s yours, it might come closer.”
“But what if it’s not?” Even if she’d never seen a bird like that before (Did falcons even live in Starling?) there was always the possibility it was just a normal bird. Or it could be someone else’s soul animal. That would be worse – she didn’t want to be one of the kids everyone knew was waiting with bated breath for their animal to appear, the ones who thought that any stray animal could be their future personified. Even now, she could see that multiple kids across the courtyard had their eyes on the bird.
It certainly stood out. It was perched in a tree just past the fence, as if it was hanging back on purpose, but its dark feathers were a sharp contrast against the bright leaves. Some kids even pointed at it. Sara knew that if she walked forward, she’d immediately make herself the center of attention.
“So what? At least you’ll know.” Helena examined her fingernails, clearly not very concerned. Sara frowned at her. “Don’t be such a coward. It’ll be fine.”
At that, Sara stood, stomping away. Helena was practically her only friend, but she could be so irritating sometimes. Then again, so could Sara, and after the social disaster that was her “stealing” of someone else’s boyfriend, hardly anyone else would have anything to do with her. It wasn’t like approaching the bird would make her more of an outcast. With that in mind, she strolled over to the fence, trying her best to seem casual.
“Here, birdy birdy,” she muttered, immediately feeling stupid. The falcon seemed to agree. It looked at her, then very pointedly averted its gaze. “Are you my soul animal or not? Because, like, everyone’s watching, so a sign would be nice. Like, any sign at all.” The bird looked back, its amber eyes fixing on Sara’s own bright blue. It tilted its head to the side, but remained on the branch. “Alright then.” It seemed like she’d been wrong. Sara could hear people snickering, but kept her head up as she turned away.
“Well, It was worth a shot,” Helena called out, to the amusement of the crowd. Before Sara could work up a suitable response, there was a flurry of wings, precluding a shift in the expressions of those all around her. One girl’s mouth dropped open, and there was a clang of metal rattling against metal. Slowly, Sara turned around.