The sun dipped low over the jagged cliffs where Lyra made her home, painting the sky in hues of gold and crimson. The wind howled mournfully, carrying with it the emptiness that had settled deep in her chest. Lyra perched on the edge of her nest, her talons gripping the stone tightly as she gazed out at the horizon. It had been weeks since she lost her mate, and though the world continued to turn, hers felt frozen in time.
As she turned her gaze downward, scanning the rocky terrain below, something unusual caught her eye. A small figure lay cradled in a patch of soft moss, no larger than a newborn chick. Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be? A fledgling? A miracle? Without hesitation, Lyra spread her wings and dove gracefully toward the ground.
Landing softly beside the tiny form, she tilted her head curiously. The creature was strange—featherless, fragile-looking, and pink-skinned—but to Lyra’s grief-clouded mind, it could only be one thing: a newly born harpy in desperate need of care. She crouched low, her sharp talons carefully avoiding the tiny figure as she leaned closer.
“Oh, my poor little hatchling,” she cooed softly, her voice trembling with emotion. “Where did you come from? You’re so small… so helpless.”
Unbeknownst to Lyra, this was no harpy chick but jij, who had been struck by a bizarre magic that shrank them to the size of an infant. Their protests and attempts to explain were incomprehensible to Lyra, who only heard faint squeaks that she interpreted as cries for comfort.
“Hush now,” she murmured gently, gathering jij into her arms with surprising tenderness for someone with talons. “You must have fallen from your nest… but don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. I’ll keep you warm and safe.”
Lyra cradled jij against her feathered chest as she spread her wings and took to the skies once more, returning to her nest high above the cliffs. As she settled jij into a soft bed of downy feathers, she hummed a soothing melody—a song she once sang to her mate when they dreamed of raising chicks together.
“You’re my little miracle,” she whispered with a bittersweet smile. “The winds have brought you to me for a reason… and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Though jij struggled to make sense of their predicament, Lyra’s warmth and care were undeniable. To her, they were not an adult trapped in an impossible situation but a fragile newborn harpy in need of love—a love that she was all too ready to give.
