The Cuckoo:
"There are over five billion seven hundred and fifty million birds
living in the United States…..and the Cuckoo knows them all."
I see him riding around the rails, usually the 4-5-6, ya know. I
know you've seen him to…the Cuckoo. Or maybe you've just heard
him - the man likes to entertain the tourists when summer hits. To
them, he's just another black beggar doing a routine - 1001 bird
sounds and all. Mixed in with jokes about how his wife wants him to
get a real job, you probably wouldn't make much of the man.
Brothers, that's a serious mistake.
I know the Cuckoo, I've seen him when he's alone in the Park or at
Washington Square in the deep night. I've seen how he whistles to
the Rock Doves and House Sparrows, and how they whistle
back….perching atop his shoulders and whispering to him the
secrets of the city.
And just once i've seen the Cuckoo angry.
It was 3am on a Wednesday night, and there he was on the platform
whistling his bird calls and humming his tunes. Not a care in the
world - alone. We thought we had ourselves an easy meal, but he
knew we were coming. He jumped the turnstile and ran up the broken
steps into the Park, but some of us were just to hungry to let him
go.
From the subway entrance i saw them descend upon my friends -
hundreds and hundreds of birds. A maelstrom of Doves, Sparrows,
Pigeons, and even an Eagle, ripping their flesh with beaks and
talons.
After they had done their bloody work, they flew around him, waiting
for us to make a move. And as we retreated to the safety of our
world below, we heard him say a single phrase:
"Let my army be the rocks and the trees, and the birds in the sky."
****************
The Cuckoo is not an active participant in New York's Occult
Underground, although many still seek him out. He's somehow
mastered a way to speak with birds, and has garnered much knowledge
from their many wanderings.
He seems to prefer his "public life" as a street entertainer, but he
does barter information from time to time.
The Cuckoo steers clear from Club Apocalypse and avoids the Network
whenever possible.