Vulture Hybrid Simon on prices farm a bit of background via ghost and soap convo . I totally didn't forget about this for months 😶🌫️
Soaps curious, really really curious, about that big boy who lingers near the property line , who likes to follow people when they do work too far from others.
Price avoids the questions about him for ages, trying to direct Soap elsewhere. That animal was nothing but an inconvenience, the reason they put locks on the windows, after he kept getting in the house, has to warn every new worker and visitor to be careful in the barn if he's sleeping in there.
Soap asks Gaz, on the rare occasion he's over for dinner, and Gaz shrugs. "He's always been there as far as I know." The response is unhelpful, but Soap gets off it for a while. It was a couple months after asking Gaz, Simon was following Johnny around while he worked on a fence near his nest, thats when he decided to ask the hybrid directly.
"so, what's your deal? Where's your flock, why do you hang around here?" Soap inquired, unhooking wire from the T-posts. The hybrid tilted its head, pausing his digging through soaps bag.
"I live here." He responded, plopped down a couple feet away. "My parents owned this ranch before your.. boss?.. boyfriend..?" He trailed off, unsure as he watched soap fumble, failing twice to pick up his fencing pliers.
"boss. Just boss." He corrected, wiping his hand off and pulling a pair of work gloves on before grabbing the pliers again. "Your parents owned it? Rare hybrids own property like this." He said after clearing his throat, crouching down to cut the old, failing mend.
"my parents were human." Simon mumbled, finding soaps trail mix. "They found me out by the road when I was a baby." He added, now picking the raisins out to eat them
Soap didn't say anything for a moment, taking fresh wire after making a new loop in the old one. "Explains why you're so friendly.. and why you kept getting into the house." Soap sighed, looping the new wire into the old one. "They had another son didn't they? Found a couple pictures of the lad in the attic." Soap questioned as he stood, fighting with the spool of new barbed wire.
"yes. Tom. He couldn't keep up with the farm after pa passed and ma's health started deteriorating." Simon replied, standing up and shaking his wings out. He watched Soap stand and start walking down the fence with the new wire and fence stretcher for a moment before following.
"do you miss them— your parents?" Soap asked, huffing as he crouched again by the fence, Simon settling behind him. "I mean, you're all alone out here." His question was met by a quiet grumbling vocalization and a moment of silence.
"sometimes. Ma is better in the city though." He responded, voice quieter as he began losing interest in the conversation. he watched soap, munching on the raisins.
"I bet. you ever thought of leaving? Finding a mate to settle with?" Soap pulled the slack from the old wire, putting it in the fence stretcher. "I mean. You're a flock animal are you not?" He shifted, sitting in the dirt as he messed with the tool and wire.
"you ask a lot of questions." Simon commented and shifted closer, lifting his wing to block the sun that had been beating down on the back of Johnny's neck. "I have. But this is my home, and I told my mum that I'd stay, she wanted me to stay."
Soap looked up at him when he was covered, lips pursed. "Were you close to your mom?" He asked carefully, looking back at the wire, now a bit more worried about asking a rude question with the hybrid looming over him.
He received silence for a solid minute, and he thanked God the hybrid hasn't been known for aggression or outbursts. "Yes. I think we were." Simon's voice, the smallest Johnny's ever heard it, finally broke the silence while Johnny was finishing with the wire. "Do you ask everyone this many questions?"
"yep. Ask Mr Price if you don't believe me." Soap said with a sigh, standing up and dusting himself off. "Really gets on the old man's nerves." He added with a chuckle, putting his equipment in the back of his truck before peeling his gloves off.
Simon grumbled, handing soap his bag back, the trail mix now missing most of the raisins. "It's about lunchtime, get a move on." He nudged soap away, towards the truck.
"yeah.. yeah, you just want to sunbathe in peace, lazy bastard." Soap chuckled, tossing his bag in the cab before getting in. He watched the hybrid pad off in the mirror, stretching his wings out.
Spent over an hour making these little banner things arghh 😪
