#they're urban dwellers who likes tall buildings

[colderdrafts]

Little Doves 1

Practicing the more gorey and horror side of things in this two-parter featuring a slightly aggressive bird. Putting a mature warning on for some less-than-cozy stuff. Next

Gn reader x monster (male falcon hybrid). TW for forced touching (sfw), kidnapping, violence

"Please eat," Callum pleads for the umpteenth time, brows furrowed in worry. "No food in days - do I need to help?"

Trying not to think too hard at the prospect of the hybrid falcon basically chewing your food and spitting it out for you like you’re a baby bird, you wince, shaking your head.

Callum grunts in frustration, his black and white plumage puffing up slightly, amber eyes sharp and narrowed. He stands a good head and then some taller than you, imposing frame heightened by the giant wings that protrudes from his back, and the thick layer of soft feathers that covers his body.

You glance to the floor, once again politely refusing of the offer he insistently holds out to you - this time a can of vegetable soup. You stomach growls in hunger and, truth to be told, you are beyond famished.

But you can't accept food from him. You don't want to seem like you're getting attached.

And you don't want to rely on him, although your other options are a tad limited at the moment.

You’re currently trapped inside the top of a ruined clock tower, once a great landmark and the pride of the city. Now, all that remains are a broken mess of clockwork and debris; When the city was destroyed, so was the clock tower.

The magnificent structure had fallen apart and split in two once the bombs fell, the mangled structure resting against its fallen neighbor building. Callum has utilized the remains as a space for his nest.

You’re inside the inner workings of the old clock, a large room partially covered in intricate workings of metal, the technology that once made the clock run – silenced now, due to the destruction. Any exit to lower levels were blocked by debris after the tower was cracked in half. The only way out is through a hole in the wall where the clock itself used to be, and the withering heights makes escape for any unwinged creature, such as yourself, near impossible.

Callums hums, concerned, bringing you back into the moment. Usually he relents at your request and leaves you be, but for some reason this time he decides to stand firm.

"I worry! Growing weak. Thinning, tired," he holds out the can to you again with a pleading expression, claws scraping across the aluminum surface. "Eat!"

To his credit, he genuinely looks concerned for your well-being, but you can’t trust that at all as you’re still unsure of his intent. Reasonable, given he forcefully dragged you here against your will and has held you captive for about a week now.

He is right, however. You have been growing weak, spending more and more time resting in a corner on the floor, refusing to utilize and share with him the nest he's built beneath the old internal workings of the clock. You’ve been saving your energy only for picking through the debris in search of anything that could get you out of here. Callum leaves once or twice a day in search of food, and you take advantage of his absence to look around without him noticing.

Two days ago you got lucky and managed to pull out what used to be a safety-net and a rope that once served as the railing of a staircase. Slowly, but surely, you’ve knotted a rope that may just be long enough to reach the street below.

It's not a foolproof escape plan, but it's the one you've got.

You look at the can in his hands, and your stomach painfully lurches. It's just soup, but right now it looks like the most delicious thing in the entire world.

If all goes well, you'll soon be out of the clock tower anyway – and if your escape plan works, you'll still need some strength to get back through the broken city and return to your faction, the Community.

Perhaps accepting this small offer wont hurt.

At least you tell yourself as much, because you can't stand the hunger anymore.

You reluctantly reach out and take the can and get to work opening it.

Callum heaves a massive sigh of relief, and stares at you while you wolf down its contents, making sure you eat it all.

You let the empty can fall to the ground with a clatter. Cold soup has never been so satisfying.

"Good," he coos once you've finished, and takes a step closer.

You freeze in place when he suddenly leans in and rubs his face against your cheek. He affectionately trails his clawed hands over your arms. "Need to eat to be strong, silly."

It sends a terrified chill through you and you grit your teeth at the contact, not sure if allowing it is your best course of action. But you also don't want to push him too much.

There's a pause where he takes note of your tension. He doesn't move away.

"Trouble?" he asks. He gently nudges you. "Sick? Is that why you are not eating?"

Scared shitless, more like, but you decide not to tell him that. "Something like that," you say instead, turning your head away from him.

He nods, and finally leans back to look at you. "Understand now. Rest, then."

You try not to yelp when suddenly clawed fingers firmly clasps your shoulders, and he starts leading you toward the nest. You turn your head to protest, but his sharp eye and something about his grip strength tells you not to waste your energy. You aren’t winning this fight.

You gingerly step over the edge of woven branches, random fabrics and grass, and take a seat when Callum puts weight on your shoulders to signal you down. The nest is not the most comfortable, but at least the branches inside have been expertly folded into the main construct so no sharp edges can poke you.

You try to ignore the small pile of bones whose species you’ve yet to identify that litters the space around it.

Callum hums in thought, and rests on his haunches across from you, peering at your face.

"Warmer here," he says. "Why do you like cold floor? Sick now. Silly."

You realize he's waiting for an answer when he doesn't move to get up. Telling him you really don't want to be in here - and that the prospect of sharing his space makes you shiver - is probably not wise. So you opt for some good ol' lying.

"Flat rock is good for my spine.” You’ve probably read that somewhere. “I need it sometimes.”

He stares at you curiously, but then looks considerably relieved. "I worry nest wasn't good enough! I will learn more of these things."

He gets up, towering over you, especially when you're sitting, and stares you down. "You rest here now. No sickness!"

"Got it," you mutter.

Satisfied, Callum turns and steps over the nest. The soft feathers at the edge of his wings caresses your legs as he moves away, heading toward the gaping hole in the wall where the giant clock used to be. You look on as he moves, a strange mixture of beautiful and terrifying where the dark hues of his wings blends together in a way almost mesmerizing.

He takes a seat at the edge of the broken wall, leaning back and staring out over the city. A few moments later you hear him gently humming.

He has a nice voice, you’ll give him that, a deep and warm baritone that gently drums across your senses. Best not to listen too much, lest he lulls you to sleep.

You sit back up, though at the sound of your stirring the humming promptly stops. You look back over to find Callum fixing on you with a sharp glare.

“Rest,” he grunts.

You lean back on the side of the nest with a huff. The humming continues.

What do you do now? There's isn't really much to do with him up and about. Usually he’s content to let you wander around the clock as you please, but now you can't even subtly look around for a way out. Seems he's set on keeping you ‘resting’ since you're 'sick'.

Nice going, you.

You stare at the sophisticated metals of the clockwork hanging above, leaning back on the branches. It’s so strange how all this happened. You cannot figure out why on Earth a hybrid falcon would snatch you if not to simply eat you.

That’s what usually happens when people get caught here.

Your fear feels justified, especially considering how you first ‘met’ him, where what was supposed to be a quick supply run had turned into a fight for your life.

You’ve often gotten the feeling of being watched when out and about scavenging and fighting off rabid animals, hybrids and hostile survivors. Usually you've roped it off as the general paranoia that’s necessary to stay vigilant and survive in this city. The Community usually sends you out in groups of three, but a collapsing building separated you from your crew mates, and left you stranded at the other side of the street.

Your paranoia had proved correct this time, however, when Callum dive-bombed for you the second you were blocked off and exposed, taking advantage of the confusion. Your crew had called for you, hearing your screams, but they had no way to quickly come to your aid.

He had the element of surprise on his side, but you still did everything you could to fight him off, even managing to knock him over the side of the head with a bat. But, in the end, he managed to force the weapon from your hands and wrangle you on the ground. You’re still sporting the partially healed bruises and scratches from the struggle.

You still have nightmares of lying there, terrified and in shock with the giant bird of prey's talons firmly locked around your torso and arms, pinning you in place. Callum had stood over you, panting and smiling, apparently pleased with the outcome of the skirmish.

Then he simply plucked you off the ground. You still remember the drop in your stomach at the sensation when he first pulled you into the air, lovingly informing you he admires your strength and cunning. He brought you here, and you’ve been here ever since.

Needless to say, it's been a strange couple of days, and he has not been very good at explaining exactly what this whole deal is. He acts as if it should all be very obvious to you.

It isn’t.

After the initial shock settled and you surmised he wasn't going to maim and devour you just yet, you had cautiously inquired if you could please leave.

"Leave? Where would you go?" he had asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"..home?"

He had smiled at that and laughed. "Silly! Playing games with me. This is home."

And that was the end of that.

You've tried your luck bringing it up again a few other times, even bringing up your other responsibilities in the Community – but it's like he simply can't comprehend why you would need to go anywhere, especially when, in his own words, 'you haven't properly bonded yet'.

Whatever that means.

You glance over from your spot in the nest, watching him move around on the broken wall and preening his feathers. You don't know what to make of him. He’s a dangerous predator who snatched you and could tear you apart in seconds – but since you got here he's been nothing but overly affectionate, attentive to your needs and goes out of his way to bring you food and other items you might find interesting.

He even brought you a new pair of trousers after hearing you mutter complaints that you previous pair got torn in your fight. He had puffed out his feathers and beamed with pride when you had thanked him and put them on, as if earning your gratitude was a significant milestone in his life.

After everything you've experienced in this ruthless fallen world, every selfish survivor, every person who proved to you that no one can be trusted, every nook and cranny that hides the next predatory gaze that holds only a wish to harm you – only a very select few have ever been this nice to you. And this is a brutal kidnapping.

It's weird.

You need to get out of here.

You glance over at the corner where your makeshift rope is hidden behind a block of concrete. It's a long way down, but with any luck, it might just be enough for you to actually have a way down the clock.

The gentle humming stops, bringing you out of your thoughts. You look up to the sound of footsteps as Callum slowly approaches. He kneels at the edge of the nest, frowning.

"Still not resting?" he asks. "Can't fall asleep?"

You cog an eyebrow at him. "I'm lying down in here like you said. Isn't that resting?"

"No," he says flatly, and crawls over the edge of the nest toward you.

Uh-oh.

You scramble backwards, looking for any excuse to keep him at bay. "H-hold on, what if it’s contagious? You'll just get sick too!"

He reaches for your legs. "Then you will be strong for me. Now I will be strong for you."

He grabs hold and pulls you to him. You try and squirm free, but he ignores it, climbing on top of you and holding you down. He shifts in behind you, pulling you close so your back is laying flat against him, arms wrapped firmly around your torso.

“Be still,” he growls against your neck. You feel a hand draping over your head.

Panic floods you system and you strain against him, heart pounding in your chest. Your breathing comes haggard, the last time he had you close like this you were in a world of pain.

He holds onto you firmly. “You need rest now. Silly.” He rubs his chin on the top of your head. “Too tense. I will help.”

You stop squirming against him and remain frozen, not able to release the rigidity in your body. He’s very warm, but the gentle strokes along your scalp and across your face sends chills through you.

You should probably shove him off, tell him to leave you alone like you’ve done all the other times he’s tried to get close, but you can’t move. You’re scared what would happen if you did. Callum hushes you, gently trying to convince you to let go.

After a bit, it becomes hard not to.

“Breathe,” he whispers.

You realize you’ve been holding it in, and let out a deep breath to try and release a bit of the tension. He senses when you relent and hums, pleased.

“Spine is okay now?” he asks somewhat playfully.

“It’s.. fine,” you manage.

He chirrups in acknowledgment, and shifts slightly, propping himself up to better look at your face. He frowns when he finds you looking back.

“You do not sleep with eyes open,” he states.

He’s definitely not letting anything up this time, so you simply concede and shut your eyes. You feel him closing the distance between you as he gently presses his forehead against yours. He then lies back down, securing his arms around your torso once again and burying his face in the back of your neck.

You don’t know how long you lie there, just listening to the silence of the city, feeling the rhythm of his breathing behind you, and the occasional affectionate stroking across your face or scalp.

You glib in and out of consciousness, trying your best to fight it off, but the exhaustion soon overtakes.

You fall asleep.

#colderwriting #monster romance #gender neutral reader #x reader #monster lover #monster x reader #fun fact Callum is based on a peregrine falcon #they're urban dwellers who likes tall buildings #going very fast #knocking smaller birds out of the sky #etc #was debating whether even positng this at all but I said I'd get better at sharing sooo.. #Callum