Pinion looked down at the situation between them, at their mirrored postures, and softened its gaze. It relaxed its shoulders but kept its wings outstretched for the moment. "So they trimmed your wings too," it stated.

"Yeah. So?" came the gruff answer.

In a moment the stork looked less like an aggressor and more like yet another controlled, abused bird, and Pinion managed to find it in its heart to feel empathy. "I wish they'd leave us alone so we could grow our feathers back properly. I'd love to be able to fly."

The stork turned its head to look at each of its ravaged wings, its huge beak sweeping left, then right. Then its posture relaxed a little bit more. "Yeah," it agreed, lowering its wings. It didn't move away and the two birds watched each other quietly for a moment.

What do you want Pinion to say next?