Storme Hawk sat in his lofty eyrie, pondering the currents and winds of the air, when he heard a sound behind him. Not a rustling breeze, or a crack of thunder, or even a shower of rain - this was more of a squeaking grunt, and could best be written as, "Eee?"

Storme Hawk turned to see a furry... thing. It was about waist-high, and looked like nothing more than a feathered teddy-bear. "What," he said, then had to start over. "What are you?"

"Eee," the feathered bear said firmly, pointing at Storme Hawk.

"... me?" Storme Hawk shook his head. "You're certainly not me."

"Eee," the creature insisted. It pointed at Storme Hawk again, then held out a hand (paw?), palm down, and slowly lowered it.

"... mini me?" Storme Hawk studied the creature dubiously. It certainly didn't look like him. Okay, there was something around the ears, and maybe the colour of its eyes - and, of course, the feathers - but overall, it wasn't much of a copy.

"Eee! Eee." The creature was getting restless. Storme Hawk shrugged. No harm could come from humouring it, surely?

"All right... mini me. What brings you here?"

"Eee! Eee eee, eee eee. Eee?" This time, the creature's gestures were unambiguous, and even more unprintable than gestures normally are. Storme Hawk swallowed hard.

"Really? But you're a... whatever you are, and I'm-"

"Eee." Never before had so much emotion been poured into a single squeak.

"... oh, all right, then." Storme Hawk stood up and led the way to the bedroom. "What harm can come from this, after all?"