Shaking his head, Tiberius silently scanned the sky as the rain continued to fall. He was slowly beginning to lose his patience when he finally heard someone land on the torch part of the Statue of Liberty behind him, followed by a mumbled voice, "For some reason, I feel like you were testing me." Turning around, the hawk could barely recognize the figure standing before him.

The rain had washed away most of the black paint that once covered her from head to toe. All that was left were black streaks here and there. It revealed the dark brown feathers along her back while her chest was cream white with a band of light brown stripes on her stomach. Her once black feet were yellow with dark gray talons. The mask that hid her face and beak was still mostly black. But the rain proved it to be white. Her tail was a light scarlet red. It was hard to believe that, moments before, this was a crow named Angel.

Clearing his throat, Tiberius replied, "In a way, I might've been." Peering over her shoulder, Angel let out a small squeak of alarm when she realized that her cover was blown. Ashamed, she spread her wings and landed on the crown. Joining her, Tiberius spoke softly, "Look, there's no need to be ashamed Angel. I'm just curious to know why you would go through such lengths to do this." However, Angel gazed down at the water below. Taking a small step forward, the old hawk persisted, "You could've told me that you were a red-tailed hawk. But why didn't you?" At last, the younger hawk mumbled something too inaudible to hear. After Tiberius gave her a questionable look, Angel repeated quietly, "I was afraid that... I would never find any friends."

Tiberius listened thoughtfully as Angel continued, "I've learned over my past six years of life that no one appreciates a 'killer hawk' like me. All I ever received was fear and hatred. And it sure didn't help when a forest fire killed my entire family when I was only two weeks old. I never had any friends... until I met you." With those last words, she looked up at the old hawk. He could actually feel his heart begin to pound even faster.

Trying to ignore his accelerating heart, Tiberius pointed out, "You can take off the mask now. I know you're not a crow." However, Angel shook her head rapidly, explaining, "You really don't need to see my face!" Confused, the hawk asked, "Why not?" Lowering her head, Angel sighed and whispered, "Promise not to overreact?" Tiberius solemnly nodded quietly. Taking a deep breath, the young hawk reached up with her foot and took off her mask, revealing three long and gruesome scars over her left eye.

However, Tiberius focused not on the scars but her eyes. They were a bright golden color, like a beautiful sunrise. Just then, it hit the old hawk. The sunrise eyes! That's where I've seen them before! the thought burst into his mind. Angel whispered quietly, "A feral cat did this to me when I first came here five years ago. It scares so many." A tear rolled down the damaged side of her face.

Stepping forward, Tiberius gingerly wiped away Angel's tear and spoke softly, "It doesn't scare me, not one little bit." Gazing up at him, the young hawk muttered, "You're just saying that." Shaking his head, Tiberius went on, "I really mean it Angel." Glancing behind her, he smiled and added, "If you don't believe me, look behind you." Sighing, she turned around to find a glorious sight...