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It was a cloudy and overcast day in London. Rain was probably impending, but it seemed to be holding off for the time being. Murdoc walked down the street, wearing a black trenchcoat and knee high rain boots. It was hard to keep stylish in such cold and likely soon to be wet weather, but he thought he was doing a damn good job.
He turned a corner on the sidewalk, the Tower of London now coming into view. Lately, he had enjoyed walking past the area, as it gave him the chance to watch the ravens. He even snuck in a couple times, typically getting caught pretty quickly, but like hell was he going to pay £37 to stare at some bloody birds. Still, he always tried to make time for it whenever he was on a walk through the city. It made him feel better after Cortez's passing.
His heart felt heavy at the thought of Cortez. He rubbed one of his eyes, blocking his tears. He wasn’t about to start crying in public like a fool over a raven. But sweet satan did he miss the little bugger. He was his best mate, and he'd fucking killed him. In an oven no less. He must've felt so damn scared and betrayed, and as much as Murdoc refused to admit guilt or hurt over anything, it ripped at his heart every time he thought of it.
He kept walking until he found himself leaning on the fence around the tower, the closest he could get without being forced to either sneak in or buy a ticket. He stared at the South Grounds, or rather the wall blocking the South Grounds. He watched the ravens flutter around near the top of the wall, never able to go far because of their clipped wings. He pulled some binoculars out of his trenchcoat pocket. If he was being honest with himself, he'd been looking forward to this all day.
One of the ravens in particular caught his eye. It was huge, and kept biting at the other ravens who got too close. He laughed loudly, drawing a couple stares, but he continued to watch the corvid as it stole a rat from another one of the ravens. He looked around to make sure no one was still looking, before hopping over the fence and making his way towards the wall.
The massive raven began to caw at him as he approached, and he froze in his tracks at the sound. He stared up at the bird, which continued to make noise at him, a couple others joining in on the cacophony. The sound was so overwhelmingly familiar. Not just in that it was a raven, something about that caw specifically called to him. He'd heard it a million times.
No way. Not a chance in hell.
And yet he still held his arm out. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shriveled piece of jerky, the only piece of meat he had on him.
“Cortez, get over here!” He yelled, and to his absolute shock and delight, the massive raven, and only that raven, jumped off the wall and glided towards him. He crashed in the dirt roughly halfway to Murdoc, but started flying towards him again almost immediately and eventually landed on Murdoc's forearm. Cortez snatched the jerky from between his fingers, ripping at it greedily.
“You little twat,” he muttered, watching the bird. “Do you know how upset I've been?! I thought I roasted you alive and you've just been sitting here on your arse, getting pampered like some little prince!” He shook his arm for emphasis, causing the bird to squawk in indignation. Murdoc turned around, the bird still on his arm as he began trudging back up the hill. “C'mon ya wanker. Let's getcha home.”
As he made his way up the hill, Murdoc slipped on a patch of mud, falling flat on his face. Cortez fluttered away, landing about a foot away from Murdoc. The bird laughed as he sat up, causing Murdoc to glare down at him.
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up ya arsehole,” Murdoc said, flicking the bird's wing. He picked Cortez up, shoving him inside his trenchcoat, causing him to squirm in an attempt to get free.
“Hold still, moron. I'm smuggling you out of here. Do ya wanna get me caught?”
He pressed his arms to his chest to hold the bird still, pretending to be on his phone and hoping no one would notice the suspiciously raven-sized lump on his chest as he made his way away from the tower.
Somehow, he escaped unnoticed and began making his way back to Kong. About halfway away, he set Cortez on his shoulder, who immediately began to bite at his earlobe.
“Ow! What, you wanna go back there?!” Murdoc shouted, pushing the bird's beak away. Cortez bit his finger, causing Murdoc to recoil and cry out in pain. Murdoc tossed Cortez on the ground, tears finally welling up in his eyes. He'd just found out this damn bird was alive and now he wanted to leave him again. “Fine! Go back to your posh little tower! They don't even let ya fly properly! You'll get no eyeballs from them, arsehole!” Murdoc stormed off, leaving Cortez behind sitting on the street.
After walking about a block, the rain finally picked up. Great, shitty weather. Exactly what he needed right now. As he walked, he heard a splash behind him. Murdoc turned around to see Cortez hopping out of a puddle, cawing in annoyance and trying to shake himself off. The bird made its way towards him, and Murdoc smirked as he picked it up.
“Just couldn't keep away from me, could ya?” He said smugly, tucking the corvid back inside his coat to keep him dry.
After several blocks of walking in the rain, the pair finally made it back to Kong, dripping water onto the entryway floor. Murdoc took off his coat and tossed it on the ground, taking Cortez into the kitchen and drying him with a dish towel. He scratched the bird under its chin, grinning.
“Welcome home, mate.”