1965-01-28 - Birbing at Saganaki
Summary: Reno and Jay take a minute out of the day to chat over cheese about things nobody else seems to want to hear.
Related: If there are no related logs, put 'None', — please don't leave blank!
Theme Song: None
jay reno 


.~{:--------------:}~.


Reno wasn't particularly scarce over the last month. He's been keeping his beak out of as much of other people's business as possible, and hey, got to help some folks do some cool and groovy things that didn't end in tears and terror. Sooooo, yeah man that's pretty cool. Still, there was something bringing the solitary, but irrepressible barber how to hunt tiny flamey cheeses. He enderd from the back, because as a bird? yeah, man, he gets to do that. Ca-caw, ca-caw, flappy flappy. He wasn't exactly whistling a he' tune but instead was lost in his own feathered head again. He wasn't perfect and looked a little rough and tumbled dry, but all in all, fair enough.


It's been a weird month. Calm and yet a little easy to get lost in. The feather on Jay has been calmer than it has in the past. Less absolutely traumatizing heartbreak and crushing depression, which is good. Though there have been spikes of distress. Anxiety. Fear. Eh, that's gotta be on par for this city right? The flashes of surroundings somehow make sense, though some of them are weird. One is a…nightclub? With weird music. That one was strange. A good number of them have been on a rooftop or in a…bar? But honestly, it's an uptick as far as the Jay alert is concerned.

Speaking of the red feather duster, the guy seems to have the same weakness for flamey cheese. Or maybe it's the proprietor he's visiting because Jay walks down the alleyway behind the courtyard, unfurls his wings long enough to get a boost up over the wall and land inside the courtyard. Trotting up toward the stairs toward the apartment. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to have an innate Reno-alert. Crow be birbing around. Lookin' a little rough.


Reno was carrying his food back when he almost turned into Jay dealry launching the sizzling sensation not greeting Jay with a "Hey man!", or even a "Buddy que pasa?" No. it was trying to catch his plate panicking with an exclaim of "Quesoquesoquesoquesoqueso!" and trying to catch it, which, thankfully, he seemed to manage to. Deep breaths from teh nervous bird. "Ooooh hey. Wow, just the guy people been all tryin to find."


"Whoa, cheese!" Is Jay's very intelligent response when they cheese begins its near crash to the ground. Quickly reaching out to try to help juggle things around so Reno doesn't end up covered in cheese-pasted feathers. That was shocking! "Reno? Buddy!" Jay's face lights up, warming as he gives the birb a look over and squint. How many other talking birbs can there be? "Tryin' to find? Wait, what?"


Reno flapped over and perched on the side and let Jay handle the cheese. "Maaaaan, Glad I am to have friends with thumbs I'll say that much." Truth. Truth incarnite. THere was a shrug of wings nad he said "Well… I saw you play… the other night. I was just thinkin, ya know, say like good job. See how you were. I mean" The crow's head tilt to teh side considering, "Last time I saw you? Well… neither one of us was too great. But hey! Met your brother. THat was cool. How'd your party thing go? You're like performing now!"


Jay smiles briefly at Reno, fixing him with a look. "Reno. You have thumbs, friend. Just not, uh, when yer feathery." Handling the plate of cheeses, Jay meanders toward a table. "You mind if Ah join you? Yer lookin' like you could use the company."

His brows arch upward slowly, his smile gently lifting. "You got t'see me play? Aw, man. Ah'm so glad to hear that. Ah'm…heh," Jay dips his head, his smile a hint more genuine than it seems some times. Nodding slowly. "It's what Ah love. Playin' music. Gettin' up on that stage an' lettin' it take ya. It's like hittin' that perfect updraft an lettin' it carry you. That /surge/. That freedom." Jay murmurs, his feathers slowly fluff up while he tries to explain it in the best terms he can find Reno may be able to relate to. "Ah've been performin' a while. Actually, Ah used to perform here."

"Which brother did you meet?" The soft hum of light in Jay's eyes carrying over.


Reno for whatever reason almost found life easier as just a bird. FOr one thing, nothing can hurt you. ON the downside? It means navigating the world as a fluffy football. As Jay was going to join as people-company reno somersaulted in air landing in a people-sit in the chair with, though took a moment to adjust to position of the seat. He shrugged, "Converation's more fair sometimes this way."

He pulled out a forkand started on teh cheese before it got too cold and while Jay was doing the talking. "Yeah got to see you at that thing with Kai that no one's supposed to talk about. I got to roost and listen a bit. I am," The man had his modesty and shrugged, "Didn' get to dance though, but I got a couple of people to sooooo that went good. You got a talent you know that? I mean there's this thing that's different though when you do it an' I enjoy it. Kinda like a um…" THe Puerto Rican squint, as habit, looking sunward when he did. "Not like a Bob DYlan, but more like Carol King? I know she a lady an' all but is not like music for hte sake of music? Like you feel somethin, you share it, and I think that's important. Like Elis is alright, and he's got some great moves an' all but like I can get my heart broken on my own. I don't need to listen to him try to pick up people in the song and know prolly ain't gonna go so great. You though? More like a long trip with good comapny. I dig it."

He paused. Man he talked a lot when he was nervous or had room to. "Yeaaaah met your brother lookin at furniture. Jeff… Jeth… Jebby somethin. He really look up to you ya know that?"


Watching the bird origami work in reverse, Jay flashed Reno a quick smile. "Ah don't care how many times Ah see that. It's cool every single time." Shaking his head slowly. "Yer somethin' else, Reno. However yer most comfortable, man. You know Ah ain't gonna hold glossy black feathers against you." Reaching around, he has to search for a moment before his fingers find the black feather sticking out of his scarf and swishes it back and forth at Reno.

Mention of /that/ Party, Jay smiles slightly, a little color touching his ears as he dips his chin down and scoops a hand through his hair, ruffling bright colors. "Oh, yeah, well, you know. He invited me along an' he said he wanted people t'dance so…Ah mean. It seemed. Good. Like, a good idea. Mutants ain't the only folks who get a bum wrap an' need a good time."

Jay lets Reno talk for as long as he likes. Though the downside here is that his cheese is going to cool, but Jay's comfortable, leaning back in his seat, a small smile written into his expression while he listens to his fast talking friend. Compared to Carole King, Jay's wings shiver and the young musician exhales a breath. Utterly taken aback. "Oh man. /Carole King/? No, no, believe me, Ah'm not insulted at all. She writes /so much/ good stuff, man. So much stuff. That means a lot to me to hear you say that, Reno. It's like you really see what Ah'm trying to really do. Like there are folks who just enjoy a good beat and movin' to it, and that's real cool, but the folks who really feel what an artist is tryin' to do an' get it. Ah mean, that's special. Thank you."

Trying to remember the name, Jay smiles slowly. "Jebediah. He's one of my younger brothers, yeah. He's a great guy, ain't he?" A sense of pride brimming through him, but there's a paternal hum to it as well. "Well, Ah think he's pretty great, too. He was stayin' with me, but he jus' got his first place all on his own, Ah been kinda worried about him. Our older brother is stayin' with him right now."


Reno, at the compliment, smoothed his feather-black hair back. He shied a grin, but offered sincerely, "Hey, ain't sayin it to be polite. I dunno. I mean, maybe i'm a wimp for having too many feelings but, ya know, you help people with anger and loss for a lifetime? Ya know you can either grow hard or really appreciate that those feelings is what makes people people. Maybe that's what you do man, remind people they's people. That's a hell of a beautiful gift ya know?"

The bridge of his nose tanned but he hung in there ridiculous as it made him feel. Sometimes letting people know that was more important than feeling silly. "Oh!" That poerked him up, "Glad to hear someone's stayin with him. I was gonna offer tryin to keep an eye out, ya know, in case. THat stuff can be scary, but if he's got family with him that's good. I worry about you though, you alright? You neen goin through some stuff. You didn't say, how'd that whole… New Years thing go?"


"That's people," Jay seems to grab onto that phrase and smiles against it, nodding with a rolling, bobbing kind of motion, like he can groove on it. "That's pretty perfect, Reno. That's people. That's right, it is. Ain't that what we're tryin' to remind people after all? Jus' people." His thoughts seem a little far away for a moment, fingers drumming on the table top and feathers thoughtfully shiver while he ponders it over. A blink later, he smiles apologetically, sheepish as his eyes refocus again on the swarthy man in front of him.

"Man, don't listen to anyone who call ya a wimp over somethin' like that. Nobody callin' Johnny Cash a wimp, an' he sings about nothin' but feelings." Jay swats away Reno's concerns on the matter, encouraing him toward security on those matters. "An' Ah appreciate havin' another guy around who /gets it/."

"Yeah, Sam'll be watchin Jeb, an we all three work down at the club, so we get t' see each other everyd ay. Ah wasn't exactly thrilled when he got his own place either, yaknow? It was jus'…" Jay presses his lips together tightly, frowns nearly, then smiles, trying to brush the concern away. "Don't want him feelin' like Ah was when Ah got here. That's all." Jay inhales a deep breath, holding it for a long moment as he levels a look at the feathery friend. "New Years was, yaknow, okay. Guys liked stuff. That's the important part. What about you, though?" Bright eyes squint gently. "You doin' okay, Reno? How's the rest of New Years treatin' ya? Ah wish Ah woulda seen you at the party. Flockin' a lil on stage."


Reno was now all sorts of modest on that, both hands coming up, "Heeeey now, Johnny Cash served harder time than I did. That ain't no fair, man. But… maybe. I mean I guess I'm me. Might not groove with others but, ya know, I guess I gott be around me all teh time. We gotta be the sort of perso we wanna be around else… well I guess who else is gonna?" There was a non-committal shrug.

In the end he perked up latching onto Jay's good news instead of the quiet thing that liked to drag on him. "Heeeey, that's good. See I told you, you did a good thing. Proud of you for goin back. That night was rough." At teh question of how he was? Eeeh, from teh look of it? Could be better. He shrugged. "I guess I'm alright. My cousin's been gone a lot. Tried goin out with this cat ya know, to like lunch. Turned out they's also an actual cat part time… yeaaaah that didn't go so well as I hoped. Got a number at the thing but , ya know, they been busy. Next time though? we set up like a bird sized tambourine, I'll join ya."


"Yer not wrong, man," Jay agrees. "You gotta live with yerself all the time. Better make sure he's someone you wanna hang out with." That serene smile touching his expression makes his eyes shine briefly, glancing quickly down at the table. "Well, fer what it's worth, yer definitely the kind of guy Ah want in my corner, Reno."

"The night was tough but, you know, it's funny how often 'the hardest thing' and 'the raght thing' are the same dang thing. You too, though. That was a rough one fer both of us. It was good to sit down and see you anyway, you know?" Jay reaches over to a small pepper shaker on the table and starts to fiddle with it. "An actual cat-cat? Like you can be a bird? That's boss, man." He cringes though, sympathetically. "Ah'm sorry that didn't work out too well for ya, man. You deserve someone who makes some time for ya. Really makes the time for ya." Jay turns the sympathetic look into a smile. "Ah'll have Jeb build ya a bird tamborine. We'll be a great two-bird band, huh?"


Reno shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, maybe. I don't have a lot of energy to hold out hopin that happens. But yeah like a peron-cat-catperson. Yeaaaaah it was bad.I got enough of everyone else's things to help them with though, ya know, and I don't have a complaint about that, so it's not like completely lonely. They get helped out. I got to see the end of the world a couple times. It's just… hard when there's a lot goin o and your closest buddy goes 'isn't it great'?" His expression changed to one of dfficulty he struggled with and he finally just shook his head. "LIke no one gets it and I can't expect em to. It's just…frustrating."

The consideration of Jeb building a tiny tambourine did get the barber to warm a grin, "Heh, yeah, try saying two bird boy band real fast five times. "You ever get that though? Like… you jsut can't seem to describe your day to a deaf world?"


Jay smiles and bows his head some, fiddling with the pepper shaker a little bit, looking at it rather than his friend while he unscrews and rescrews the top on the shaker. "All the time," he has to admit, quietly, peering across the table to Reno. His smile resolute. "Ah'm lucky that Ah've got a best friend who knows how to listen, but it took me a while to find him. And there are still really basic stuff that we don't quite match up on, you know?" He shrugs gently and looks back down to the pepper. "An' he's got his own really serious stuff to worry about, too. You don't want to always be that guy buggin' your best friend for shit that doesn't matter."

Jay looks up at Reno again, considering him thoughtfully. "What do you mean you saw the end of the world a couple times? That sounds…horrifyin'."


Reno shrugged and said, "eeeh sometimes being a friend is all about the little things, man. My primo and I Mostly we was like that. Now's he's got a girl and this whole supernatural… crazy thing goin on. Ya know I hear ya. He got his own things and like, he don't need to be carrying my less important stuff. I guess that's just o us to sort out but…yeah." Still was sad he kinda lost that but what can a guy do?

Looking up Cuervo shrugged and nodded, definiately bothered. "Yeah it wasn't a lot of fun." And the Oscar for most understated responses goes to…Reno Cordova! His brow furrowed and he winced. "Jay, I like you. I don't wanna hafta put that on you man. But like.. these people take me to places to have vision sna d stuff- hazard of the job- it's been … a lot of things not so good on the horizon. So like… I talked to the Angel of Death about it, nice guy by the by, not like scary kill people but scary like daaaaaamn Son where you get that fashion sense sort? More like… wlel… He used to work with my dad in a hospice capacity, ya know? Anywyas, he said Reno, kiddo, you need t'be writing this stuff down and I'm all like dude! No one wnats to read that, but, I dunno. Maybe it help me sleep or somethin."


"The little things matter the most," Jay agrees gently as he screws the cap to the pepper back on and sets it aside again, smiling apologetically at Reno. He squints. "Ah haven't been the greatest friend t'you lately, have Ah, Reno?" He scoops a hand through his hair, still passing a sheepish and apologetic look across the table.

Listening quietly, there's a shake of his head. "Reno, Ah might be terrible at figuring my own stuff out, but believe me. Listening to what's going on with you ain't going to drive me nuts or weigh me down like you think. We're friends, right? That's what they do. Even if Ah can't help a lot, Ah'll listen."

THough listening, Jay reels just a little bit when the angel of death comes up in conversation. Feathers ripple and flutter, he swallows dryly and nods, catching up. "Oh. Like. Journal?" He squints slightly. The angel of death told you to journal.


Reno shrugged a shoulder, "My hiccups ain' your responsibility alone, man. Would be good to catch up more often, though. I mean, I know you're busy and things is goin real good for you." He paused and the smile was infectiously sincere, "I am thhough happy we ain't seen you in a bit for good reasons. So hey, already January's better than your December at least? That's good! Is a good start man." There was a pause and, well, the journaling didn't make a heap of sense to him either.


Jay smiles smally and waggles his hand back and forth, but nods none the less. "Sorta. Ah mean. Ah'm tryin' t'see someone, but Ah don't know how well it's workin'. I don't feel like Ah should have to convince someone t'stay with me, necessarily. Ah've already kinda…done the part where you hear over an' over all yer good qualities followed by a 'but that ain't enough'." Trailing his eyes over to the salt and pepper shakers again, his smile maudlin in nature.

"The journalin' doesn't sound like a bad idea. Ah mean…okay, in order to get yer words down, you gotta organize 'em, right?" Jay tries to solve that issue instead of his own. "Like when Ah write music, Ah got to sit down, figure out what Ah'm feelin' and find all the right words for it. Maybe it's the same thing he was tryin' to say? Just organize yer thoughts on it. Help ya work through it on yer own. Ah mean, I feel a little clearer on stuff when Ah jot it down."


Reno consideres taht and flinched. The crow looked at teh table and murmured, "Know it too welll man. Either it's like wher I come from, oooor the guys I got tangled up with and that was some real dumb shit but still dumbshit follows you further than not-dumb shit… I got a great personality but I'm short, too nice, is a bad time, my ability's too weird." He sighed and looked up to Jay in helpless comisseration, "This one person? They's allergic to feathers and that's… well taht's legit I had to give them that one. But you ain't wrong. You should never have to convince someone to be there. They should wnat to be there. Tehy got stuff to work out maybe they ain't ready to be there, but, ya know that ain't always their fualt, but it don't mean is your fault either. Sometimes?" He shrugged and patted Jay's arm, "Sometiems there's no faults and things just is."

The crow listened and shewed on his lip for lack of cheeses left to be had and offered, "You wanna grab your notebook and guitar sometime and some notebooks maybe we'll both figure stuff out. Hey sometiems is better with company."


"Feather dander's no joke," Jay points out with a sympathetic groan and then a speculative look at Reno. "You probably got an oil gland, huh? Ah've got these damn dust feathers." Still, he smiles helplessly back to Reno, shaking his head gently for a time, there is a hard dart of his eyes away, definitely not wanting to hear something mentioned as a full ripple of motion shakes his wings out, fwipping behind him a couple times afterward. Another minor readjustment of the salt and pepper shakers, the musician nods. "Sure. Ah'd like somethin' like that. The company's good, even if it's quiet, y'know? Ah'm pretty comfortable in silence. Never been the kind of guy who has to fill up every second with sound. Sounds like a plan, Reno. Name the time and place an' Ah'll be there."


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License