The Falcon and the Owl

December 2017
Anchorage, United States
Hermann startles when he hears a soft voice at his elbow.
“When did you learn origami, Gottlieb-hakase?” Mako Mori stands beside him as he sits at his desk working on his Breach model. His hearing is usually better than that due to his owl DNA, but he's frustrated and sad today and not at his best. Hermann's long-awaited meeting with Doctor Newton Geiszler was a disaster. They had vowed never to speak again. Mako's presence is a welcome distraction from the angry thoughts swirling in Hermann's mind.
She fingers a delicate swan with deference, the only ornament on the mathematician's desk. Hermann smiles at the young teenager. The marshal must be busy and let Mako wander the Shatterdome as usual. She's quiet and respectful; everyone loves her, including Hermann.
“I was alone much of my childhood. It gave me something to do after my schoolwork.” Mako's serious face takes on a frown at that. Hermann can understand her empathy for his plight. She's been alone much of her recent childhood as well.
“Do you have siblings?” Mako asks as Hermann pulls a few sheets of origami paper from his desk drawer (for stress relief in the lab) and hands them to Mako. He's not busy himself. The next Kaiju attack isn't for weeks and his model is being stubborn. What better way to free his mind than to entertain a small, lonely child?
“I do, but I was—ill much of my childhood. I had tutors at home.” "Ill" is a word for it, but not at all the truth. Hermann's wings are more monster than disease. Mako looks at him with her special piercing gaze but says nothing as she works. Her hands are nimble as she chooses her paper and puts down the others. The teenager stills for a moment before asking Hermann a question.
“What do you like to make most?”
“Animals are lovely. I enjoy finding new ones to create.” Animals don't hate you for what you cannot change. Hermann thinks with bitterness before squashing the feeling down. He doesn't want to worry Mako or make her think that he's mad at her. “I've been doing a series of birds for my sister currently.” Karla had insisted on birds for her new foyer and Hermann, in a rare fit of pride, had offered to make a few to sit among the glass and wood.
“I'll make a bird as well.” Mako says with determination. Hermann decides to make something for Mako to thank her for her visit. He may never have children himself due to his monstrous nature, but he can feel a small shadow of love from the teenager beside him.
As they work, Hermann asks Mako about her education and other light topics. She's doing well in school and cannot wait to enter the Jaeger Academy in a few years. She misses Chuck Hansen, though the last that they spoke she punched him for insulting her favorite baseball team. Marshal Pentecost has bought her several books about engineering, which Mako loves.
Hermann lets the girl's quiet enthusiasm wash over him. He can't scrub away the feeling of self-loathing entirely, but the young woman exudes a warm comfort. He can see how much her past has hurt her but her inner conviction helps her to face the world head on. Hermann wishes, not for the first or last time, that he had Mako Mori's strength.
“I'm done, Miss Mori.” Hermann says as he places the small falcon next to Mako. “This is for you.”
“It's beautiful!” Mako says with awe. "Thank you so much." Hermann's work is beautiful—like Mako. The bird appears to be a dark black like Mako's hair and Hermann can only hope that the actual shade is a good one, since he cannot tell himself. Mako puts the bird in front of her with a reverent smile and continues her own work.
“I'm finished!” Mako says just a minute or two later. She cradles her work in her hands. It's an owl, in the same shade as Hermann's own wings—brown, he assumes. She can't know, surely, but the girl's inner perception scares Hermann as it impresses him.
“It's a lovely owl.” Hermann says as she hands him the bird. It's a bit crooked and she has ripped one leg in her haste to finish, but otherwise it's a quite well-done piece.
“It's for you, Gottlieb-hakase.” Mako says as she strokes the bird's head gently. “Owls are symbols of intuition and wisdom. You're working to stop the Kaiju. You are intuition and wisdom.”
“Oh, thank you, Miss Mori.” Hermann says with a bashful smile. Mako doesn't know about his wings or his problems. She only sees him as he wishes that he saw himself.
“You have to keep working hard, Gottlieb-hakase. I will as well. We'll defeat the Kaiju.” Mako says and her dark eyes look through Hermann with a maturity born of sorrow. “We'll work together.”
Hermann wants to hug the teenager in front of him. Her voice is strong and sure. Mako Mori does not lie. Hermann's smile widens. Though she is not his, he loves this little woman. How can he not when she's her?
“We'll work together.”
Category:Birds of a Feather storyline
Category:Hermann
Category:Hermann (ficlet)
Category:Mako
Category:Mako (ficlet)
Category:Hermann is part owl
Category:Mako is Japanese
Category:Anchorage Shatterdome
Category:Anchorage Shatterdome (ficlet)
Category:Ficlets in need of language stuff
Category:Ficlet
Category:Pages in need of tags