Aww, such a fitting end. ^v^ Nice to see he did end up mating after all. Also great to see Damien's arc coming to a similar conclusion. I will say though that it's unclear what happened to Kole, did he get to keep his promise of finding him? Also would've been nice to see some sort of reunion with the crew, but maybe that takes away from complete immersion into his new life. Or maybe room to pick up where we left off from someone else's pov?

My theory is that the inhibitor is what allowed him to keep his mind intact, and that the others didn't have that luxury. Mind you, Darren seemed a bit aware, but Damien and Benji didn't. Maybe the degree of loss varies but the inhibitor stops it entirely? Perhaps I'm reading too far into it. I'm glad there's still some mysteries left unsolved, regardless

Thanks for sharing this story with us, even if its end is bitter-sweet :)

I originally thought about having him reunite toward the end of the chapter. I decided against it to leave options open for the future

As for picking up from another POV, I will say that is my plan for a shorter story later. 😉

I won’t go into detail. But I will say finishing is different for some folks.

Thank you for you feedback and comments! I love reading what everyone has to say.

:') I'm not crying, we're all crying!

Glad to see Lyall keep his mind and have children to boot. Here's hoping he'll be a good father.

I'm not crying! I'm....cutting onions! Where did I put the darn onions...and the knife....

The onion ninja stole them!

Congratulations on finishing the story! I'm glad Lyall got a happy ending. :)

Such a lovely end to an amazing story! It made me so happy to see him not fade away entirely to instincts, but instead embrace being a hawk with the memories of a former human. It makes me quite envious of him and his change. This was an absolute joy to read and I look forward to reading it again a few more times in the future!

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

What a journey. And that conclusion, you threaded the needle - it was heartfelt, tragic, and yet all was not lost.

Can't tell you how great this was to read, I was getting butterflies during the build up... my heart dropped at the patient termination report in the middle. I thought, "Oh no, he's going to cut it off here and waffle for a bit with an alternate POV epilogue?" but then BAM, we get the full follow through from Lyall's perspective.

Now to go more in-depth on the decision you made with the ending which I feel deserves more analysis. That is: there were a range of outcomes you teased to the question of what happens at the end with the mental changes - total loss, total preservation, or something in between, possibly unique for each case. For my preference, you chose the best balance here for Lyall's story. Also, I think it was the bravest option because it's difficult to justify why, if Lyall still seems to be in control of his faculties, which as far as he knows may be the first time this has ever happened for an Anima patient, why does he not immediately decide to reveal it to anyone and everyone? But you handled it perfectly. He is largely unaware of just how much his mind changes, because he experiences a continuity of consciousness thoughout it all. At the end of the day, hawks don't want to do such strange things as get close to human beings and behave in an unnatural manner. And so because Lyall is a hawk he doesn't really want to do that either. He has far more important hawk things to be doing instead ^v^

So to summarize: you chose the most challenging outcome to write and YOU NAILED IT!!

Bravo, this saga was top tier. I get the feeling we might not have seen the last of Lyall though? He's made some promises and not tecnically followed through on them I suppose At any rate, I can't wait to read whatever you do next.

Y’all are making me cry 😭

Thank you for the kind words! The final chapter took my 3 drafts before I was happy with it. I spent hours reviewing the final version hoping you guys would enjoy it. I’m so relieved to hear all of the feedback I have been getting.

I can’t thank you all enough, without your support I would have never made it this far.

Indeed, far more important things like tending to a hot hawk gf and soon to be four adorable chicks ;>

I'd have to say the same. I wanted so badly for him to see his friends again, but the flow of just not having the time or energy to spare really let it sink in.

I still have a myriad of theories running through my head as to why this is a thing in this world. What happened to Barclay? Did his mom ever come to visit?

I didn't fall apart like I did in the last chapter, and I think that's good! The emotional climax was the process of getting all the ducks in a row. Saying goodbye before we can fully accept the innevitable conclusion. That's not to say my eyes weren't wet with tears.

All in all, this story just feels so inspiring! You know? It's so hard to find time to write stuff. My bigger projects not really making it here due to its marriage with other passions of mine.

Having finished reading this story, makes me want to explore some of the themes and ideas you've presented here, like those tough conversations and especially the goodbyes.

It's been a long time since I've read a longer story in this community, let alone one that captured me so completely. For that I thank you. I hope to read more of your work in the future and cry just so hard, like ugly cry, from your fantastic storytelling!

A Beautiful Story and a very good ending

This is the best story I have ever read! I love birds, especially hawks and falcons, that's why I waited for each new chapter with a great desire to find out what will happen next! This story made me think about different things "Who are you?" "What did you do in your life?" and I will remember it for the rest of my life. The end of the story is amazing, exactly what I was waiting for! Although I actually hoped that Lyall would still see his friends again :) It is sad that he left as a man, but as a hawk he must like his new life. So, we can say that the final is open and you can imagine what will happen next. I really hope that we'll see something about Lyall in the future ;)

It's good to see this finish properly. Often the hardest part with writing a story is finishing it. So many people make such great work, but never complete it. I'm glad to see this from the start, to the finish, over the course of 6 or so months. To believe I almost skipped over your story altogether.

Good stuff. I'm glad that I came along for the ride.

I’m glad you came along for the ride!

It was the best read I’ve had in a long time! I also want to become a hawk, but it is only dreams...

Don't we all

aaaaa I loved this story to bits! Have had it on my mind since I finished it recently, a memorable and bittersweet ending that almost feels like some kind of catharsis for Lyall. Such a big fan of how subtle yet effective the details were, and the cast was distinct and felt full of variety (can't really place why, but Nash was my favorite roommate!)
Loved the fun touches of social/scientific realism and slice of life, whether it be new small issues dealt with day to day, going to the doctor, or having to go grocery shopping for a variety of bird folks while in public. Was a fun read and definitely up my alley!

Happy to hear you enjoyed it! I know the long format is not nearly as popular as short stories, but I wanted to give it a go anyway. Most of the TF virus type stories always seem to take place at the beginning and I always wanted to explore what happens years later, when it becomes a normal part of life.

Very engaging story. Well done.

Thank you! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

I'm not usually one to make it to the end of a story this long but this got me hooked early on and now... I swear those aren't tears. I just got something in my eye.

This story is incredibly good. The ability to control the changes to some extent, yet the existential threat of eventually losing control was a nice change of pace from what I'm used to in transformations.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! 💙