Author's Note: Hey everyone! This is just a little diddy I croaked up to pacify you guys in between the wait for updates to Unexpected. This will become a haven for people who just want to sit down, relax, and read some semi-entertaining yaoi-goodness. Have a glass of lemonade!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Ninjalogy

By: Mad Betrayal

Chapter 1 ~ Love Birds

Cole sighed dreamily as he peered down into the flower garden below him. For a lovely blue jay preened his sapphire feathers happily in a bird bath. The merry *tweet tweet*'s that wafted up to the raven's ear slits were like music to him and he leaned forward on his high perch if only to get a closer look and lose himself in the music. He had been stalking—cough—innocently following his fellow passerine for about two weeks now, but have yet to formally introduce himself.

He had a multitude of good excuses—cough cough—reasons for keeping his distance and admiring the smaller bird from afar. For one…he was scared, which seemed incredibly unorthodox for the usually fearless scavenger. Why, just last winter he had bravely challenged a vulture for the remaining scraps of a caribou carcass! A vulture! Was he the bird or what?!

But alas, here he was shaking in his feathers with fear because of a beautiful, little blue jay. Emerald stones blinked and continued to watch his infatuation shake his glorious tail feathers from side to side. The blue jay was soaked through and through, but seemed to relish the feeling of the water clinging to him. Another song of *tweet*'s filled the air as a quick shake of that supple, damp body sprinkled a mist of droplets.

Cole didn't blink again. Perfect blue feathers gleamed in the morning sun, and as he tilted his head back and opened his silver beak to belt yet another harmonious ballad, the raven's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm in love…"

"Yeah, I can see that…"

Alarmed by the sharp tone, Cole *cawed* and flapped his wings, taking flight in a panic. He hovered in the air for a sec and turned his head quickly when he heard the *scree*-ing chortles of a red-tailed hawk.

"Kai! You no good waste of feathers!" Cole bellowed, irate and indignant at his friend's interruption to his spying—cough—observing. He glanced down quickly to see if maybe the blue jay had been disturbed by the ruckus and fled, but to his amazement as well as relief he hadn't noticed.

Quieting down, Cole perched himself back on his branch and continued his…observing, all the while ignoring the large bird of prey above him. "How much longer are you gonna do this?" Kai sighed exasperatedly. "You do realize that you don't have a chance with him, right?"

Cole finally turned his head again to regard the smirking hawk. "How do you figure?"

The hawk "sighed" again and lifted his port wing to point at the raven. "Well first, you're a raven. And second, you're a male."

Cole stared at his friend since nesthood, clearly unconvinced. "So says the hawk who's in love with a male swan," he argued, and flicked his tail feathers at the hawk's hypocrisy.

Kai refolded his wing sheepishly. "Oh…uh…you know about that…?"

"Who doesn't?" Cole said, returning his gaze to bathing blue jay below. "His name's Zane, right?"

"You know that too!?" Kai screeched, and Cole hopped down to a lower branch.

Using his sharp beak to preen his chest plumage, Kai lowered his piercing golden gaze to his friend. "I never was good at hiding my emotions, huh?" He shrugged helplessly. "I just couldn't fight the feeling. Zane's beautiful, yanno?"

"Yeah, I know."

Kai flitted to the branch Cole had been perched previously. "Hey, I'm sorry. I know I'm the last bird to be talkin' about who you should be looking for in a mate."

"Don't worry about it. It's okay."

Kai cocked his head, his eyes moving from Cole to the blissful little blue jay below. "Yanno…I was scared too…"

"Of what?"

Kai huffed, his friend was obviously hooked. "About approaching Zane, maggots-for-brains! I mean, you can say we're complete opposites!"

"You are opposites. He's lovely and elegant, and you're…well not."

"Shut your beak! The point is I took a risk! Even while knowing good-in-hell-well that I could be rejected! You're a brave bird, Cole, so why don't you fly your black-feathered butt down there and make somethin' happen and stop worrying about what's not gonna happen!"

And with that little piece of advice, Kai spread his wings and launched off into the sky. Cole closed his eyes. Though he hated to admit it, the smirking hawk had a point. He couldn't go on like this. What was the point of loving someone if that someone didn't know about it? And more importantly, it didn't matter if they were a different species of avian, as it didn't matter that they were both male. If his love could be reciprocated, then that's all that mattered.

"The heart wants what the hearts wants…"

And so deciding enough was enough, Cole decisively spread his wings and swooped down to the flower garden. He *cawed* a greeting as he neared the bird bath as to alert his fellow passerine, and in response the blue jay spun around to face him. Cole's talons hooked themselves to the outer rim of the bath, not wanting to be presumptuous and step in if he wasn't welcome to.

And even though the raven was at a respectable distance, he had never been so close to his infatuation before, and was shocked into speechlessness as his eyes locked with the other's. The white face and black markings were to be expected, but what was unexpected were the blue jay's deep sapphire eyes. They were just as radiant as his zenith feathers and just as captivating.

Cole stared.

"…Um…hello?"

The mellow, comely cadence of the blue jay jerked the raven out of his shell-shocked stupor and he shook himself instinctively. "Hi! I mean—ahem—hello. I…uh—hope I'm not disturbing you?"

The blue jay blinked and dipped his beak into his white chest plumage, smoothing out the damp feathers. "At first, yeah, I found you following me very disturbing, but since you never did anything but watch I figured you were harmless. So, heh…I got used to your shadowy presence after a few days."

Cole's beak fell open. True, he didn't have the silent flight gifted to the owls or other birds of prey, but he at least thought he was being very discreet in his stalking… (Yeah, it's okay to say now). And the way the blue jay had called him out… So perceptibly calm with an edge of snarky humor… There was more than one reason for Cole to be surprised.

"I-I'm sorry. I…I didn't mean to—I mean I was—"

"No worries." The blue jay lifted his head and met Cole's gaze with noticeable courage. "You were worried for me, right? A lot of the bigger birds are—those who don't try to eat me that is. But I can take care of myself! I'm clever and fast as I'm sure I've shown you, so you needn't worry about me anymore. I know what I'm doing…" Sapphires looked around the garden. "And I like it here. I'm not leaving."

The raven found his tongue quickly. "I don't doubt you or your abilities. Like you said, I've seen you and…you're great."

At the compliment, the blue jay hopped closer to raven. "Thanks! You have to be smart around here, yanno? Otherwise you'd be a sitting duck."

A playful wink from the blue jay had Cole *cawing* in laughter and the blue jay *tweeted* right along. Feeling indubitably relaxed, Cole decided to take his chances. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all!" The blue jay chirped happily. "That way we can bathe and continue our conversation!"

Cole stepped into the clear water, the cooling flow soothing his talons. "My name's Cole by the way…"

The blue jay turned his head, gracing the raven with his exotic profile. A little grin touched his beak as he eyed the bigger bird up and down. "Your Ma and Da didn't try very hard, did they?"

Cole chuckled and lowered his beak to the water to have a drink. "Nope, not at all. I have a brother named "Night" and a sister named "Abyss". I swear… It'd be like naming a blue jay "Jay" or somethin'."

"…What's wrong with that…?"

Cole lifted his head to eye his infatuation incredulously. "Are you serious? You actually know a blue jay named "Jay"?"

"Yes," the blue jay lifted his lovely head a bit higher, "and you're looking right at 'em."

Cole stared, and unperturbed, Jay continued. "I think it's a real honor to be named after one's species. While you probably think it's stupid, it's actually what makes me unique. You won't find another blue jay named "Jay" around here, I guarantee it!"

Cole's infatuation was just one surprise after another, and as he peered unblinkingly at the smaller avian's prideful posture, he felt his admiration for the male rise just a little bit more. "That's a very positive way of looking at things, Jay. You're a very interesting bird." Cole stepped closer, but Jay—either not noticing or not caring—stayed rooted to the spot.

"It's a lot better than being pessimistic and uh… You're—um…a lot—a lot bigger up close…"

So he did notice. Cole leaned forward and gently clasped his beak around a stray leaf that had fluttered down and caught itself in Jay's neck plumage.

"Uh… Oh…C-Cole…?" Beautiful blue eyes blinked at glossy black features along the raven's powerful neck. He had a sudden urge to run his beak through the silky-looking mass, but restrained the small desire as best he could.

Cole lingered a spell longer than was necessary and closed his eyes in contentment at the other male's breathless stammer of his name. But not wanting to appear too forward, he gradually pulled back. He showed Jay the leaf before letting it drop listlessly to the water's rippling surface.

"Oh…uh…thank y-you…" Twin pools of blue flickered to the floating leaf between them shyly. "…S-So umm…"

"Jay…"

"Huh? Y-Yes?"

Cole paid close attention to the blue jay's body language. He was still well within the other male's personal space—his beak mere inches from his—but Jay didn't move away. Instead, his peerless sapphires met Cole's emeralds unflinchingly. Watching and waiting with anticipation…

"I have to tell you something…" His voice had fled into a whisper, and Jay responded in an equally hushed and entranced tenor.

"Yeah…?"

There was no turning back now. "The initial reason why I started following you was not because I was worried for your safety…"

"It wasn't? Well then…what was it…?" Jay's voice was soft in its inquiry.

The raven took a breath. "It was because…I was infatuated with you. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were different, especially since you braved this neck of the woods. I was entranced by your beauty from afar, but up close…I'm absolutely enthralled. And so, I was wondering…if I could maybe be so bold, and ask you to fly with me? I want to get to know you better… Every single detail…"

"F-Fly with you…? Get to know… Huh…?"

Cole cooed low in his throat and pressed his beak gently to the side of Jay's—a gesture of interest in becoming mates among birds. Upon feeling the intimate contact, an unknown shiver wracked the blue jay's body and a long, blissful coo purred up from his throat as well.

"That is…if you'll accept my invitation…" Cole uttered.

"Ah…Yeah, I…I think I'd like to fly with you, Cole…"

"Hmm…then no more following… I'll be right beside you tomorrow morning…" The raven then pulled back and stepped away. Jay swayed for a moment in a daze before quickly righting himself.

"Wha…? Tomorrow? Y-You're leaving? Now?"

Cole nodded apologetically. "Yeah, sorry. I wish I could stay longer, but I have to find my siblings. It's almost time for the noon-hunt, and they're still wet between the talons when it comes to hunting and scavenging. They'll need my help."

"Oh…" Jay was obviously disappointed in losing Cole's company so soon and the sentiment touched the raven's heart. "But…I thought you were going to bathe with me…"

Cole turned around and extended his glossy black wings. But before he took off, he eyed his hopefully-future-mate over his shoulder. "I did, Jay…in your presence."

And with a wink and a *caw* Cole became aloft and left the blue jay behind in the bird bath. However, as he soared higher, he caught Jay's unique song on the wind…and the message within.

"That was a good line… I guess I can give you some points for being charming…"

Author's Note: It was four o' clock in the morning… Don't judge…