Summary: Thirteen-year-old newly adopted ward of Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, aka the Talon of the Court of Owls, is a lethal living weapon with a mysterious past. But when Wayne Enterprises hires Annabeth Chase as Bruce's new assistant, the young assassin becomes inexplicably attached to her, trailing her like a loyal duckling. Bruce is baffled. Percy finds it adorable. Dick isn't sure whether to attack Percy or accept his offerings of blue cookies.
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Dick Grayson stood awkwardly in the Wayne Enterprises hallway, staring at Annabeth Chase with wide, unblinking eyes.
Annabeth, unfazed by Gotham's nonsense, glanced up from her tablet. "Can I help you, kid?"
Dick blinked once. Twice. His voice came out a little hoarse and curious. "..Owl?"
Her response—casual, resigned, and absolutely cryptic: "uhh...Yeah."
Day 17: "You're not alone."
Fandom: Stardew Valley
Rating: G
WC: 1,030
CW: N/A
Ao3 Link!
Best Bird Friends
Eloise and Leo find out they have a lot in common.
Written for the Fictober Tumblr’s Fictober 2025 event! A giftfic for @eemamminy-art
“Psst, Leo.” Leo glanced up from his drawing to see who was whispering to him.
“Shh,” he hissed back to Eloise. “We’re supposed to be doing quiet study.”
“What’re you drawing?” Eloise asked, ignoring his reminder. Leo shot a look across the room toward Miss Penny, who was doing her own silent reading. She didn’t seem to notice Eloise being disruptive, so… maybe it was okay if Leo talked to her? Just for a little bit, of course.
Leo looked back at his paper, awash with colorful lines. “Oh. I’m drawing my friends,” he explained.
Eloise’s eyes opened wide, and she scooted her chair closer to his. “Can I see? Which friends? They look very colorful, almost like birds or something.”
How could Leo explain this to her? He didn’t know Eloise all that well yet— she’d been studying with Miss Penny’s and Miss Flor’s classes for longer, but Leo himself had only moved to Pelican Town fairly recently. Before now he’d lived on Ginger Island, all by himself… except, he wasn’t all by himself, because he had dozens and dozens of bird friends: the parrot population native to the island.
Leo wasn’t native to Ginger Island. Miss Penny had taught them the word “native” a couple of weeks ago. It meant that all his parrot friends were born on Ginger Island. Not Leo. He didn’t remember exactly how he’d wound up on the island, but he had a feeling it had to do with a very, very bad nightmare that kept coming to him when he slept, about a mother and a father and a bad storm, and a shipwreck, and a tiny baby who was left all alone… it was a terrible dream.
“These are my friends from where I used to live,” he finally said. “I’m from Ginger Island.”
“Ooh, yeah, my dad told me about that,” Eloise replied. “You were in a boat accident, right? And you got stranded? And your parents died?”
Leo felt his lower lip begin to tremble. He didn’t like the way Eloise was talking, and his heart felt like it was hurting. Shifting his chair away from her, he rotated his paper so it was under his arm and she couldn’t see it anymore.
“Wait!” Eloise protested, “I’m sorry! Did I hurt your feelings? I didn’t mean to! I bet that was really sad for you. I kind of know how you feel. I don’t have a mother, either.”
“…You don’t?” Leo looked over at Eloise, her blue eyes round and serious-looking. “Really?”
“Really-really,” Eloise said, nodding solemnly. “My mother died when I was little, so that’s why only my dad and I live here. So I sort of know how you feel. She was sick.”
“Oh,” Leo replied, glancing back at his drawing and letting his arm slowly shift so it wasn’t covering the paper anymore. “I’m sorry that happened to you, too.”
“Thanks." Eloise paused for a minute, then brightened. "Can you tell me about your friends on Ginger Island?” she asked. “I thought people didn’t live there.”
Leo smiled. “I never said I had people friends,” he grinned. “My friends were birds! I can speak parrot,” he boasted.
Eloise gasped in delight. “Your friends were parrots? And you could talk to them?” Her smile was big and wide, and it made Leo’s smile get bigger, too. “Birds are my favorite animals! I know almost everything about birds!”
“Ellie, use your inside voice, please,” Miss Penny spoke up.
“Oops,” Eloise whispered. “Sorry.” She and Leo shared a look, giggling.
“Is this what you talked about the other day?” Asked Eloise. “Remember, when I complimented your feather outfit and then Miss Penny said we had to be quiet and not to ask so many questions because you were shy?”
“Um… yes,” replied Leo, still giggling a bit. “Actually, I can teach you how to speak parrot, if you want,” he offered. “Well, not right now, because Miss Penny will be upset if we make too much noise. Speaking parrot is a better outdoor activity,” he said, “and I could introduce you to my bird friends.”
“Ooh! I’d love that!” exclaimed Eloise, forgetting to use her indoor voice already and earning another reprimand from Miss Penny. “Oops. My dad was saying that he’d take us on the boat ride to the island sometime soon, because I haven’t been yet, and now that the weather is getting colder here, he wants a beach vacation. He works really hard,” she added. “He’s a vet. I know everything about birds and he knows everything about taking care of animals. We make a good team.”
Leo looked down at his paper for a moment before glancing back at Eloise. “Maybe… we could be a team, too? Because we both love birds? I like playing with Jas and Vincent but they’re not as into birds as I am. They don’t want to learn to speak parrot.”
Eloise narrowed her eyes in thought. “Well, that’s just ridiculous. Who wouldn’t want to learn to speak parrot? It sounds like a pretty useful skill to me. What if you’re lost on Ginger Island and you need directions, and there’s no humans around? You’d have to ask the birds how to get back home.”
“Exactly,” Leo smiled. “I’m glad I met you, Eloise,” he said. “Even though I had bird friends on the island, it’s different to have friends who are other kids, like me. Sometimes I felt like I was very alone, after my parents… um, left.”
Eloise nodded. “Birds are good friends, but people are, too. And you’re not alone! You won’t be alone ever again, because you’ve got Vincent, and Jas, and Miss Penny and Miss Flor, and Gudrun, and Amina, and Keahi and Trinnie… and me, of course! Your best bird-friend.”
Leo giggled. “But you’re not a bird!”
“Oops, you’re right,” Eloise grinned. “Maybe I can be your best bird-loving friend. How about that?”
Leo thought for a moment before letting out a squawk! The other kids in the library all turned to look at him, and Miss Penny and Miss Flor both went, “shhh!” He giggled. “That means, ‘yes’!” he told his new friend.
