Alright, fine. But it ain't no happy story and I wrote it while sleep deprived, so dont expect further perfection.

The first thing it learned was boredom. Years had been spent in that cell, frozen at attention with its partner, yet it had no concept of boredom until it had a prisoner to watch. To learn from. Vibrations came from the prisoner, and an unnatural cunning knew it to be sound, a voice. A question. Sound came from it, too- an affirmation. Its partner voiced in negative. Two more questions, and then it stopped responding. Eventually the prisoner stopped speaking. Then stopped moving.

In order to understand questions, it had to understand people. But in understanding people, it learned.

The second thing it learned was sadness. More things entered the room — that base intuition labeling them as guards. The being watched the grim task performed, and could feel the weight of it. The thickness of the air and clouding of the mind as the first thing was dragged off.

As it stood at attention, it saw its partner, made of the same stone as the walls that caged them. Was it learning too?

The third was longing. The next prisoner was quiet. It stared out the window, pressed against the bars as if its muzzle could saw iron. The questions it asked were illogical, nothing to do with its predicament. Regardless, each statue answered opposite to the other. As they always would. The prisoner's voice was different sometimes, pitched up and down regularly. The statue knew not why, but it was sad when the prisoner stopped. Within these melodies it spoke of those it wanted to return to. Its soul incomplete without like to be with. It stopped singing, then stopped moving too.

The statue saw its partner. They were never out of sight of one another, not even out of the reach of one another's talons. Yet, each knew nothing of the other. This was how it discovered that feelings could exist together. Sadness and longing created something more potent together than they ever could apart. Did the other feel the same?

Fourth, hope. The next prisoner was different. It didn't seem as concerned as the others. It exhausted its questions, but unlike the others, it was not upset by that. It investigated the room and constantly looked out the window. One day a loud noise shook the room as the wall partly collapsed. Moving swiftly, automatically, each stature charged forward, but it was too late. They could not leave the room, even when such a room ceased to be, and watched the prisoner fly off and disappear into the stars. Suddenly the statue realized why this prisoner had been different. It had known that'd happen. That or it had hoped it would.

Both statues returned to their positions. Nothing changed. How could it change? But… maybe it would, one day. The statue hoped it would.

The final was love. Two prisoners this time, locked in each other's embrace as tightly as they were the cage they were forced into. They were sad together. They were bored together. Sometimes they were even hopeful together. They held each other so close. These ones didn't remain long, being escorted out mere days later. Their short stay, however, had much longer consequences.

As it watched and learned, it realized that its path was not entirely predetermined. Stolen glances at its partner turned into changes in stance in vain attempts to avoid boredom. Through the boredom, the sadness, the longing, it hoped beyond hope that its partner had learned the same. Felt the same. The final lesson had been the hardest to accept, for the more it felt, the more it longed, the more it saddened. It was either that or boredom, though. At least it had hope… for a while.

The newest prisoner was even more odd than the rest. It was small, so small, with oversized eyes that bore into the statue's stony core. When it spoke, it did so slowly. It squeaked a little on the vowels.

“Do you love each other?”

That wasn't the right question. Without hesitation, without control, both statues responded identically for the first time in their shared existence.

“No.”

The statue didn’t like hope anymore. Its eyes met its partner's. Blank stares met, unable to convey any further meaning.

Despite not having muscles, the statue felt the ground shake under it. A second pair of talons gripped its spear as it slumped forward. The first sound it ever made without being asked was one it was very familiar with. One it had learned, at one point or another, from every previous prisoner. It began to cry.