corvidfamiliared

[corvidfamiliared]

Gregory Widen, the Prophecy (1995) | Dead Boy Detectives (2024)

[corvidfamiliared]

Monty peered around the corner of the warehouse door, hesitating in the entranceway. Being here made him nervous, that part of his brain that would forever be bird, no matter which form he took, was cawing in warning, predator, predator.

The crow and the cat, what a pair they made.

"If I come in are you and your cats going to eat me?" He had to be sure. One of the Cat King's foot soldiers was eyeing him with a distinctly hungry look.

@retriibutions

[corvidfamiliared]

"He does seem to do that a lot," Monty hedges, attempting something close to teasing. He doesn't want to badmouth Edwin, but gentle teasing...that's something friends do right? It's something he's witnessed this group do to each other, and it seems nice, friendly even.

Monty's not all too familiar with friendly.

"I mean, like, to be fair; you do the same thing whenever Edwin or Crystal asks you to do something you think you don't want to do." Monty smiles, hoping it's friendly.

There's something in him that wants to wrap Edwin in his arms and never let go. Never let him get his heart broken again or his body ripped apart. Part of that fear comes from how Monty looks at his best friend. A sense of want that Charles is only just beginning to recognise he shares.

And he got there first. Edwin is his.

"I'll let Edwin know and we can pencil it in. He'll take a tic to complain about it but he'll go if we ask nicely."

[corvidfamiliared]

Monty didn't mean to get involved with Hell. Truly. That was WAY far up on the list of things he Was Not Going To Do. But being an unbound familiar put him in a precarious position, he was as liable to unwanted summonings as most minor demons. More liable in fact, because he was far easier to bind.

(And far more useful if he did say so himself.)

Which meant, that when someone in Lucifer (the Devil's) fucking palace, needed a servant (for the Devil!) who was called? (to the Devil's house) -Monty, that's who.

He found himself sat on the floor, the crochet project he was mangling still in his, strangely still human, hand looking up at a large throne. He knew where he was instantly. Great.

"If I say no to whatever you summoned me for, can I go home?"

@crownedinsin

[corvidfamiliared]

Teeth, they're such an interesting body part to have, they make for very intricate facial expressions. Monty bares them now, in a smile that's all edge and no warmth.

"I'm sorry, was I giving the impression I was still pursuing him?" Monty sniffs. "I respect a rejection when I'm given one, unlike some people who hang around where they clearly aren't wanted." He swings around, so he's no longer facing the irritating ghost, hoping he's being clear that the unwanted situation is here and now.

"And cats and birds historically do not get along. Any idiot should know that."

@corvidfamiliared gif cred.

"edwin doesn't seem to be all that into you, does he, mate?" try as he might, charles can't completely erase the edge of jealousy that taints his voice. he's never been very good at sharing edwin with anyone who's romantically interested.

"oh well, it was a good run for you. you know, i think the cat king is single. you should give that a go."

[corvidfamiliared]

hold urself as a baby or wtf is it...

[corvidfamiliared]

Monty is a literal morning bird.

[corvidfamiliared]

Monty perks up at this. Ghosts who can eat, that opens so many possibilities. For a moment, he allows himself to fantasize about taking Edwin out to a restaurant, low candlelight, just the two of them.

No. He shakes his head, friendship only. Sadly, he places Charles and Crystal in the daydream. It's still nice.

"I've never been to a night market," Monty admits. "But I like the idea! That sounds really cool. Let's go after the club." Monty spares a thought for his sleep schedule, but ultimately decides its worth it, he needs remarkably less sleep than a normal human, part of the benefits of being a crow in all but shape.

They are both new at this. At making friends and learning about humanity. Sure, Edwin has always been human. But spending seventy years being torn apart and put back together by monsters has tainted what humanity he had left. Crystal has often remarked on how he is too frank and how he tends not to see the emotions of it all. Edwin can't say he remembers too clearly how to be emotional beyond the stronger notes. Charles has helped clear the path for that but there are wounds that even Charles' gentle smile cannot soothe.

"That would be splendid. I do enjoy walking the night market after a long case with uncomfortable elements. Charles does not like when I go alone as a few times I have been accosted due to my own curiosity. I hope this visit to find a particular herb that I have been scouting for as part of my studies into ghost remedies. If I am right it should allow a ghost to eat and Charles can finally have the spaghetti he laments."

[corvidfamiliared]

Monty tending to imitate how other people sound like corvids can do. He laughs like Esther, and I mean exactly like Esther, sometimes he says things and its in Edwin's lilt. He doesn't mean to, and its always a little unsettling

[corvidfamiliared]

Monty feels something settle in his chest. Relief, maybe? Except that doesn't make any sense. He doesn't need Charles' approval, he doesn't even like him very much. (Deep in his jealous, jealous heart, he is still under the impression that Edwin loving Charles means that he will not have any room to like Monty)

Still, Charles acknowledging that he might've had a good idea makes him smile and fills him with a sense of accomplishment. A task completed, a job well done.

And then Charles mentions Crystal and Monty's smile falters a little. The witch, no psychic, scares him deeply.

"Yeah, uh, yeah that sounds great, like total group outing, fun!"

Charles raises an eyebrow as the crow attempts to guess what the angle is here. Sure, Monty had his whole redemption arc moment in Esther's kitchen but that didn't mean Charles trusts him around Edwin alone. Because of Monty Edwin had been tricked and nearly eaten by a tree. He won't let anyone get so close to his best mate without prior checking. Especially as he knows now that Monty has a crush on his still discovering his sexuality best friend.

"It's fun. Mum and I went once and seemed pretty aces though cold as hell. Edwin hasn't ever mentioned ice-skating but he's not really one to head out and do sporty stuff. Prefers a good read, that one."

He knows from experience that making Edwin do any sports is usually a foolhardy decision. While often the smartest in the room the boy didn't know his arse from his elbow when it came to anything athletic.

"Suppose can't hurt to ask. Make a day of it. Crystal's been aching to get out and away from the office."

[corvidfamiliared]

You are free to spread your wings.

Monty doesn't feel free yet. He feels like this, here with Edwin, is a lovely dream and that he is going to wake up and have to scout out another little girl for Esther to murder.

But this was not a time for morbid thoughts. He shakes them off and pastes on one of those pretty, pretty smiles. "Maybe after we can do something you enjoy?" he offers. "Read something together, maybe? Or go for a walk?"

It makes sense that Monty would find teeth an oddity as in his usual form he would not have had any. Edwin had found it a few times coming back from hell that he'd encounter something that did not have any reference to what he knew. It is a very strange feeling and he can understand if one truly enjoys the new sensation.

"I can understand that. I am glad you are finding enjoyment with your new form. I did worry that it would cause you more pain after...everything."

He smiles sympathetically. "I am sorry she treated you so unkindly. You are not trapped by anything here. You are free to spread your wings, so to speak. You need not worry about upsetting me with enjoying it while I do not. It is common for me not to enjoy things that others do. You enjoying this actually makes it easier for me for I do not need to subject myself to it."

[corvidfamiliared]

Monty waited a long time before going to see the Cat King.

But, you see, here was the problem. There wasn't much to do in Port Townsend. He'd already picked through the wreckage of Ethel's house, taking the few things that were of any significance to him. The one bell toy she'd had made for him, back when she still did things like that, several books of witchcraft and astrology, a deck of tarot cards, and one sketch -done on vellum paper, of Esther with a crow perched on her shoulder.

(Proof that she'd loved him once, right?)

And once that was over, well, there'd been nothing to do except for wander around and try to practice turning from a boy to a bird. It hurt, in the way only transforming from a five-and-a-half-foot man to a two-foot-long bird could hurt. And he wasn't very good at it.

Unfortunately, he knew someone who was. He went as a man because a bird flying into a den of cats was a good recipe for a dead bird. So it was boy-shaped that he picked his way through a warehouse full of cats, trying very hard to ignore their teeth.

"Uh, Cat King, I seek an audience...or uh, something."

@itsbitmxdinhere for the Cat King

[corvidfamiliared]

"Do you think Edwin would like ice skating?" Monty muses, staring out the window of the office. The rain had yet to turn to snow, but there were indoor rinks, and synthetic ice had been set up in some of the larger parks nearby, for the holiday season

"I've never been," Obvious. Though he had perched on Esther's shoulder when she'd forded a river during a freeze some centuries ago, that might count. "But it seems like an activity friends do together."

He looks at Charles and tamps down a reflexive burst of jealousy, keeping up what he hopes is a kind and disarming smile. "Have you ever been ice skating?"

for @angstlived as I begin to shove Monty and Charles in a get along shirt.

[corvidfamiliared]

There's a trend im noticing with Ncuti's run as the Doctor. He tends to outshine his companions. His companions are just there, watching him as he zips around. I thought this was a problem with Ruby Sunday but I'm noticing it with Joy in the Christmas special too.

Now. I adore Ncuti's Doctor, he is a joy to watch and his energy is infectious. But I find myself just wishing that the companions would do more.

[corvidfamiliared]

their unspoken rivalry is very funny to me

[corvidfamiliared]

So here's the thing. I don't think Monty had real feelings for Edwin. I think he had hero worship, here was someone new and exciting and doing all the things that Monty wasn't brave enough to do (stand up to Esther). He had a schoolyard crush (ooo pretty boy)

But thats as far as his feelings extended. To Monty, Edwin is a shiny trinket, something he's infatuated with but the feelings don't run deeper than that.

Not that he knows that. Boy has had human feelings for like 2 weeks. He thinks he's in love.

[corvidfamiliared]

Right. Hell.

Monty has always been a deeply curious bird. It's part of what made him such a good spy. But, in certain situations, it makes him a terrible friend. And he's trying. If friends is all Edwin wants to be, Monty is going to make sure he's the best one he can be. Which means, no prying about Hell, even if he is desperate to know more.

So instead he shrugs, a one-shouldered, jerky motion. "No, it just feels weird, it's interesting y'know? I'm not used to having teeth."

And then, just in case that was a weird, off-putting, thing to say he rushes past it. "And I like, totally get the personal space thing, whenever I wasn't out running errands for Esther she kept me in a cage meant for parakeets, so like, I'm all for personal space- It's great."

He had never wished for the Earth to swallow him up before, another new experience.

How fascinating it is to have a human familiar working within their agency now. It has grown so much despite Edwin's reluctance to change an already proven system. Monty has helped plenty in their continued success and especially with their newly appointed babysitter. Charlie is warming to them but it will take time before she truly finds a home. Edwin could relate there.

"For me the multitude of people reminds me of hell. Lust specifically though it is not too far from gluttony. I prefer to have my own personal space which is not respected in these establishments. You enjoy the vibration in your teeth? I have never experienced such a phenomenon." Out flips his notebook to add it to his notations about Monty. "Is it not painful?"