Life one:

The tall man with the fur-lined cloak and the hood pulled low over his eyes walked into the small, miserable hovel. It could be the beginning of a bad joke- it wasn't. It was simply a man with a cloak and a hood that stood in the corner, quietly watching people go to and fro with amusement in his eyes.

He could only be around twenty years old- the signs of a moderately rough life, but city dwelling clear in his clothing. He was far better dressed then most of the people here, and already eyes were bristling in response.

A small boy, only ten years old, but to be considered an adult in another four years came trudging through the doorway, his own thick cloak protecting from the winters chill. The child grinned the second his eyes landed on the stranger, making a bee-line for him. "Horses are put away sir!"

"Good job. Then we'll take our meal and eat in our rooms."

"Aye sir!"

The cheerful child skipped after the man, as a slight unease ran across the room- the man was a lord? And to afford horses…

But the man smiled gently at the child, when any nasty Lord would have given a beating, and the child wasn't clad in ill-cast off rags. The two of them seemed more like family then they did Master and Lord.

He would not be hassled with at this inn.

(They left the next morning, bright and early, the child still drowsy, but trying to keep up, the man's long legs shortening the pace so that way the child could keep up. As they rode out of town, the man kept one eye on the child in case he fell off.)

Life two:

The small bird shivered in the oncoming night, tiny feathers puffed out and still slick from the late night rain. It chirruped, miserably, from where it was laying.

He could see mother's nest far, far above him, but it was too far, and his wings were too small. Mother couldn't hear his wane cheeps as she settled down for the night over his brothers and sisters.

The tiny chick chirruped miserably, mind struggling to think and comprehend. He was only a few weeks hatched, and he was hungry, so very hungry, but there was no food. So he chirruped again, as loudly as he could, hoping to catch mother's attention.

He didn't catch her attention- but the ground trembled beneath his feet as he began flapping unformed wings desperately- a ground shaker! The big things! They were coming for him!

Something so big he couldn't see the end of it, appeared in his eyesight, as a ground shaker slowly bent over to look at him. He chirruped louder, wings beating in an even more pitiful attempt to chase the ground shaker away.

Darkness abruptly fell around him, and he stilled, feathers slowly slicking downwards. Darkness meant that the ground shaker couldn't see him, nor could he see the ground shaker, though the ground was swaying…

The birds head fell slowly, as he felt himself warming.

When he woke up, mother still wasn't there, but the ground shaker was. The ground shaker held something out, what looked like something yummy dripping off of it-

Curiously, the bird reached out to gulp and swallow the curious taste, that was so warm and delicious. Feathers fluffed in contentment as he gulped down drop after drop, until it pulled away and didn't come back. With a full stomach, the chick dropped back off to sleep.

The second time he woke up, mother was far from his mind, and his mind was instead full of this odd, odd place he was inside. It was like a nest, just with higher walls, high enough that he couldn't see over them, but there was one way he could go-

The chick happily waddled towards it, and found itself in a narrow corridor. There were two ways he could go- left, or right. The chick's head tilted in confusion as he regarded the ways- there, faintly on the left, he could see another wall of the strange nest.

That meant he had to go right.

Layton stared at the small milk primer, sheepishly wondering how he had been convinced to take care of this small bird. Claire had laughed at his shocked expression when he had wandered into her holding the bird and uncertain what to do about it- the mother had refused it.

Claire had immediately showed him how to warm a pannikin of milk, mixed with a few other special things to nourish the bird, and left in a flurry of laughs as he attempted to tell her that he couldn't possibly take care of a bird. Especially a baby bird. Even if for some reason he had heard the feeble cries, and felt something within him reach out for this tiny little chick, he couldn't possibly take care of it.

"You'll be fine Hershel. Just fine." She smiled as she adjusted his hat, and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Now then, I'll trust you can find him a nest."

Well, he did have that maze that the very center ought to be big enough to make a makeshift next, and tall enough that the bird couldn't just step over the walls. Layton dipped his finger the milk, and smiled. Perfect temperature, perfect timing. He had just heard a few cheeps of the bird a few seconds ago.

The man stopped dead in the doorway as his eyes fell on the puzzle in the middle of the room- and the chick halfway to solving it. How very remarkable.

The bird sang and twittered sweetly, bright, colorful blue plumage shimmering in the sunlight. His perch smiled as it held up a hand, and obligingly he stepped onto the held out finger, singing and trilling to the ground shaker that was family.

The man made the happy noise, as the woman beside him made an equally happy noise. The bird sang sweetly to them both, as it took to the air and sailed to the woman's shoulder, preening her hair.

The two ground shakers leaned into each other, and the bird fluttered upwards, tucking his head beneath his wing.

His family was safe.

(And when the ground shaker couldn't do any more then mourn, the bird was perched on his shoulder, grooming what hair it could reach, singing its own mourning song for the lost woman, until it nearly lost all of his feathers. Then and only then did the ground shaker hold him carefully in his hands, crying for one last time, and then taking care of the bird. The bird would've given up all itself to bring back the woman for the man, never knowing that would've brought just as much pain.)

Life Three:

There were all sorts of weird rumors going on around about this place. The guy who lived there was considered to be insane- the best animal breeder and animal whisperer you ever laid eyes on, yes, but insane.

Hershel Layton didn't really believe in the rumors. That was the only reason he even decided to walk past the house at the dead of night. It was a shortcut home, and mother was probably getting worried.

Father wouldn't care.

He smoothed down the wild hair determinedly, and kept on walking. While he would have to go right by the crazed mans house, it wasn't like anything was going to leap out and attack him. Right?

A low growl picked up from right behind him, and Layton's analytical piece of his mind analyzed it as a Beagle. The rest of his mind threw its hands up and went straight for the only shelter he could think of- the house that the crazy man lived in.

There was the sound of teeth snapping at empty air, as Layton jumped the fence, and a howl filled the air. In front of him, the window to the house flew open, as a thirty or forty year-old-man leaned out the window yelling, "HEEL!"

The dog skidded to a halt. "Tyston, I swear when I get down there and find that you've terrorized yet another innocent walking along the road again, I will have you locked in the kennel for a week!"

The dog howled mournfully- The man scowled, his eyes obviously unable to pick out Layton in the darkness as he attempted to catch his breath, "Don't give me that Tyston, I know it's been you, all your kennel mates- now don't you start growling at me."

The dog woofed, and the sound of trotting feet vanished among the dry leaves towards the back of the house. Layton remained momentarily frozen in the darkness. The man above shook his head, and began to pull back, before pausing as he realized there was a teen at the front door.

"Oh. Sorry that you had to hear all that. Would you like to come in? I can fix you a nice cup of tea as an apology for Tyston's behavior."

Well, rumor one confirmed: the man talked to animals like he could understand them. And he was crazy. But- "I'd like a cup of tea, yes."

He wasn't a fan of it, but anything sounded good at this point. "Alright, come on in, the front door is unlocked."

Hershel cautiously approached the door- it was pulled in tight, but as he tried the doorknob, it easily gave way. No turning back now he supposed, and he did want to solve the puzzle of whom this man was. It was proving to be an interesting one, catching his attention like school never did.

"Hello?" A black cat leaped past him, up to the top of a bookcase. It gave him a disdainful look, before curling up and going to sleep. A few birds in cages twittered, the opening to their homes left wide open.

And the man himself was coming down the stairs with a sheepish smile on his face, "Sorry about this. I was just asked to look after several animals by some acquaintances."

Layton would never be able to say why that word struck a cord in him, but it did, and without meaning too, a very slight frown crept on his face. "Do they often do that?" It was hardly right.

"I love animals, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's a little odd to have so many all at once." The man laughed as he held out a hand, "I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Luke. Luke Triton, but you can go ahead an call me Luke."

"I'm Hershel Layton. Pleased to meet you." Hershel extended his own hand, and shook Luke's firmly. A small child in blue sprang to his mind curiously enough, but Hershel shoved the thought away. Luke was older then him, though he did have a childish exuberance...

What happened next was perhaps the most enjoyable night of Layton's entire life. Luke, it turned out, had an interest in puzzles- and hard ones at that. And even if he did talk to animals like he understood them, it was mostly overshadowed by the fact that Luke truly had a brilliant mind, tucked away beneath the craziness.

A few hours trickled by, with the two completely different people chatting over the slowly cooling tea, before Layton had to ask. It wasn't right that Luke was letting his mind be lulled and not challenged-

"Why haven't you gone for another field of studies?"

"You mean like anthropology, or somewhere where puzzle solving is the norm?" Luke looked pensive, and just the slightest bit saddened, "It wasn't for me. I could never do it. Maybe if I had someone willing to help me out… but I do love animals, so I'm quite happy." Despite his words, he still looked just a little sad. The cat from the bookcase jumped into the man's lap.

Luke smiled childishly wide as he petted the cat on his lap. The cat purred in response, tail brushing against the man's arm. Layton frowned, before murmuring, "That isn't right."

"Maybe, maybe not." He shrugged, "I've learned not to sweat the small stuff anymore. But don't you go doing what I've done, alright? Go for something that you really love."

(Later on, Hershel Layton went on to become one of the worlds most famous archeologists and teachers, saying that it was to honor a promise to one of his best friends and mentor- Luke Triton. But now wasn't later, and when he did get home on the back of a horse Luke had stabled in the back, he was made fun of by all the other students. It didn't stop him from going back. He would continue to go back for the rest of his life, no matter what kind of separation there was.)

a/n: If you have an idea for an AU world, drop it in the review box- I'd love to try it out! It can even be of similar riffs off of ones that I've already done.