Ty replaced the window as the bird delicately stepped into the palm of his hand once more. It was a surreal moment as Ty stood in the moonlit darkness of his room holding the intelligent female jay in his hand. She looked up at him sweetly in the silence, waiting patiently.
"What was it like?" Ty repeated his earlier question. "What happened to you?"
The bird trilled happily. "Ah! I'm more than happy to relate, my friend. You see, I remember feeling an overpowering urge to stand in your hand, such as I am now. This much you saw. Then, the next thing I knew I felt hazy, my mind fogged. In something of an instinctual panic, I took off and flew away."
"Right." Ty nodded. "I remember that. It made me sad. I didn't think it worked."
"Ohh, I'm sorry." She consoled. "But a few minutes later, the fog seemed to lift, and as I was perched on a tree branch watching other birds move around it was like..." She seemed to search for the right words. "It... it was like waking up. It felt like I had just woken up from a long rest. But I was different somehow. I knew your speech. I-I could think! Reason! Imagine!" She beamed with joy.
"So... it worked it's way over you slowly?"
"Yes! You could say that!" She agreed. "The foggy feeling must have been my mind changing. It didn't hurt, didn't feel great. I suppose it didn't feel like much of anything. But after that, I spent the rest of the day flying around. Observing your kind, taking mental notes as it were." She sighed happily. "Oh, and tracking you. I'm sorry if that seems odd, but I wanted to find you and thank you."
"It was nothing." Ty blushed. "I'm really glad you like it."
* * *
Ty and the blue jay spent a few hours just talking in the darkness of his room, eventually growing comfortable enough to lie down together on his bed. They introduced themselves to each other and learned about the other's life. Ty asked the bird countless questions about what it was like to be a wild animal, able to fly, what she ate, how she lived. In turn, the bird asked the human about things she had seen in her day's travels, what his life was like, and so forth.
They talked about his power, what the bird would do now that she was intelligent, what Ty would do now that he was a young God, and what the future held for both of them.
At last, there was a lull in the conversation, and Ty came to a sudden realization.
"Wait!" He gasped. "Oh no!"
"What's wrong?" The blue jay cocked her head.
"We never did decide on a name for you, did we?"
"Heavens! No!" She blinked. "I-I think we got caught up in everything else!"
They both shared a muffled laugh and then proceeded to throw out names for the bird. It had to be good, they decided, because so very rarely did you get to pick your own name.
"How about Jane?" The jay chuckled finally. "You know, like blue jay? Blue Jane? Or is that just silly?"
"Do you like it?" Ty smiled.
"I do!"
"Then you'll be Jane!" Ty nodded.
"Wonderful! I'm Jane!" She bowed and spread her wings dramatically. "And so it is settled, my dear Tyler."
With that important task out of the way, they began talking again. The conversation now turned to other matters. Did Ty have a girlfriend? Did Jane have a boyfriend? They both began to get extremely silly and found themselves laughing and joking with each other, their personalities meshing. Ty had indeed made himself a new friend.
It began to get very late into the night and neither the bird or the human found themselves tired.
"You know what we should do now?" Jane asked, hopping down from the bed and bounding along Ty's bedroom floor. "I think we should try out your power some more."
"Oh! Really?" Ty asked, genuinely surprised. "How? On what?"
"Who, rather." She giggled. "Come down here with me."
Confused, Ty got off of the bed and sat down in front of Jane, staring down at her. "Okay. Now what?"
"I want to make a request." She began, a little more seriously than she had before. "I think it would be fun if we could experience each other's worlds for a little."
"Ohhh..." Ty grinned. "I think I like where this is going. Tell me more!"
"Well, how about this? Either you become a bird or I become a human. Either way, I think we could have a lot of fun! A real adventure! Doesn't that sound great?!"
"It does!" Ty agreed, bending over onto his hands and knees and getting close to Jane. "Color me interested!"
"So?" Jane laughed again. "Which one strikes your fancy, oh great Ty? Should we turn me into a human? Or turn you into a blue jay?"
"Hmmm..." Ty put his hand to his chin. "Lemme think for a minute."