Humans were evil.

They pillaged and plundered their way through nature, destroying the good that came with it. Marvin thought he looked all too similar to humans. They shared the same faces, tongues, and space on earth. He appreciated his god for ordaining him with feathers - a layer of safety for both him and his chick, thick enough to evade winter storms and insulate their bodies.

Despite their similarities, humans could never bring themselves to look at harpies eye-to-eye. One always had to triumph over the other, and somehow they decided that their ways of war and butchery were the way to go.

Marvin remembers when humans first entered his home. They were meager things with little on their backs - hungry critters. But then they built. Their structures were bulky, taking up the space of dozens of trees at a time. He couldn't wrap his head around how going against the grain of nature like that could be fruitful. The gentle, time-staked creation of nests was unmistakably beautiful - to become one with the pine and bark and give back.

Humans are oh so territorial as well. No sort of being - not even mice - was given the grace of their kindness. Marvin remembers how the valley used to be filled with harpies; now the only feathered face he saw was Jason's. So no, Marvin does not consider himself overly cautious when you stumbled into his life.

Marvin remembers the first time he met you. The poor human was half delirious, flopped over in the snow like a fish out of water. For ages it was like a stand-off - Marvin against this half-dead, hairy beast. He couldn't display such apathy to a creature in need though. Jason had been watching, and Marvin would be damned if the boy didn't grow up with a sound sense of caring.

So that was how Marvin ended up with a human in his nest. You were soon gone, but only for that day. Soon after, the harpy found small offerings at the foot of his nest: boar meat, weaved blankets, tanned hide. You turned out to be a very safe, maybe even sweet human.

So only most humans were evil, he re-opined.

Marvin thought of all this as he looked upon the dusky sky. It was getting darker sooner now, and the stars shone with brilliant detail. Winter had begun to make itself known, and typically Marvin would begin to fear for the worst. You had made this season slightly better though. With your gifts, the cold seemed less of an imminent threat and more of a nagging concern.

After all, he and Jason were secure in his nest. Winter was making itself known as thick blankets of cold settled over the forest. Tonight marked the first snow, where thick, wispy flakes blew sideways through the trees. Marvin's little chick was buried under his father's wing, his little body shuddering in the cold.

Poor thing, he thinks. Jason's feathers have still yet to grow in thick enough for the winters. If not for your blankets, he would've caught another cold already.

Something fades into view. From outside the gnarled bark of his tree, Marvin spots a solid figure hunkering toward them. Its presence is a dark cloud piercing through the swirling snow. It steps through the storm, breaching the barrier of safety the tree provides. Marvin jumps back, clutching his baby.

It's you, he realizes. Slowly his muscles unlock. He peers over the bundled human body staggering before him. When his mind finally manages to catch up to his body, Marvin squawks, "Human! What are you doing out there? Have you gone mad?"