Chapter 15: Up in the Air

[Neurodivergent people] trust in themselves and exhibit great resilience against peer pressure. For them, it's often incomprehensible the way neurotypicals can be so preoccupied with others' opinions of them. They often have a strong sense of justice. Their stubbornness and ability to geek out mean they never give up...

— Clara Törnvall, The Autists (translated from Swedish by Alice E. Olsson)

All Kenku feel a primal urge to return to the air, and Ash was no different in this regard. She sat on the roof of her dormitory, the wind gently teasing her raven hair as she looked out over the familiar campus, alone with her thoughts. People bustled to and fro below her, never once looking up to appreciate the lovely spring day. Ash might as well have been invisible.

Loneliness was an unfamiliar feeling. She had gotten used to relying solely on her family for companionship when she was growing up, and then when she first came to university, she was too busy with her studies to think about trying to socialize. But ever since she had crossed paths with the society of Kenku living in the city, she had begun to yearn for something more than academic camaraderie, something more... personal.

Suddenly, she heard a whistling noise, the now-familiar sound of pyrotechnics being ignited somewhere nearby. She turned to look, and a few rooftops over, spied two figures excitedly gesturing upward as colored lights bloomed across the midday sky. Two... familiar figures?

No way, thought Ash. What are the chances?

She called out to Hoot and Buzz in Auran, the instinctive language of creatures of the air, which could be carried by the wind across distances. "Hey!" She waved frantically. "Hey! Nice work!"

They startled guiltily and seemed like they might be about to flee, but then the sense of what she was saying penetrated and they paused, curious. One of them tentatively waved back.

"Wait there! I want to meet you!" Ash practically flew down from her perch and raced in the direction of their building as fast as she could. She found them waiting for her in the street, looks of polite puzzlement on their faces.

"Hello!" She beamed. "I'm Ash. I'm part Kenku, and I'm studying at the university to be an artificer. Did you make those fireworks yourself?"

The one with darker eyes scratched his neck self-consciously and nodded. "That we did, although nothing fit to impress an artificer, surely?"

"Artificer in training. I haven't worked with explosives myself, at least not yet." She smiled encouragingly. "Did you teach yourselves?"

The other one snorted. "Had to, din' we? No fancy university for the likes of us."

The first one elbowed him. "Don't mind Buzz, he's got the manners of a grapefruit." He held out his hand. "I'm Hoot."

"I'm so pleased to meet you both." Ash shook his hand firmly. "Would you like a tour of the ballistics testing lab?"

Ash was gratified to see their faces light up like kids being promised ice cream.

---

"What did you think?"

"It's a house of marvels." Hoot shook his head in wonderment. "You're really lucky, Ash." Buzz grumbled in agreement.

Ash turned to face them squarely. "I didn't take you in there to tantalize you. I'd hoped to encourage you to apply to become students here."

Buzz made a bitter noise, and Hoot shook his head again, this time sadly. "We did apply, Ash. We... we didn't pass the entrance exams."

Ash blinked, taken aback by this. A lifelong scholar, it hadn't even occurred to her that someone with obvious engineering talent might not have the necessary background to be admitted to the university. "Oh! I... I see. Well... hmm. What if I tutored you?"

Buzz looked skeptical. "Dun' need to be owin' any favors."

"Not as a favor. As a friend." Ash smiled shyly. "That is, I'd like to be your friend."

Hoot whistled softly. "Truly, you'd want to get to know a couple of rapscallions like us?"

Ash grinned impishly at that. "All of my favorite people are rapscallions." She turned to Buzz. "What do you say?"

Buzz continued to squint suspiciously, then shrugged. "Alright, I'll give it a go."

Hoot chuckled. "You'll have your work cut out for you, getting any culture into his thick skull."

Ash smirked. "I've never backed down from a challenge."

"Hmph." Buzz scoffed. "My butt is a challenge."

Hoot swiftly smacked the back of his head. "Don't be rude, you nitwit."

Ash just laughed.