Fate's Gambit: A Half-Blood's Odyssey

Chapter IV: Dark Thoughts

I wake up the next morning, still in the nest. It must be really early, the entire room is pitch black. Hold on, I don't remember the room smelling like cucumber and melon. I'm under Cota's wing. Again. I must have dozed off while I was sitting and ended up leaning against her last night. I get it, though. Cota, being a bird and all, instinctively roosted with me still in the nest. Her head is resting on mine. She's snoring, but it's not the usual nasal type of snore. She inhales normally, but her exhale comes out as an almost inaudible cooing sound.

I don't want to disturb or possibly startle Cota with movement. Does it happen anyway? Yes. I attempt to gently move her wing aside so I can get up and it ends up spooking her. Cota, suddenly awake, starts flapping her wings frantically and screeches and squawks.

"Cota, calm down!" I shout over her screeching.

"Oh, Kaela, good morning," Cota says, abruptly stopping her panic.

I stretch in a downward dog (cat?) pose and let out a low purr before responding with a simple "Morning."

Cota reaches out and brushes off my head, removing feathers from my hair. My cloak hood is down. Why is my hood down? If there's anything I remember from before I dozed off, it's that I definitely had my hood on. I touch my face and sigh in relief that my mask is still on, at least. With that, I try to pull the hood back over my head, only to be stopped halfway by Cota, who placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a friendly smile.

"What do you usually eat in the morning?" I ask Cota. I never took the time to really ask her about diet. I figured she'd be entirely carnivorous.

"Fruits mainly," Shocking. "Sometimes I add seeds and nuts for the extra fiber."

I guess the human blood in her is enough to keep her omnivorous.

Cota stands up and steps out of the nest.

"After we wash up, I'll prepare a fruit breakfast for us. How does that sound?"

"We? I don't have a change of clothes or anything."

"Ah, fair point... Oh! There are some face cloths in the bathroom. You are free to use those for now. Once we get your clothes over here, you can start using the shower."

I tell Cota I'll get right on it. She nods and heads to her own bathroom, closing the door behind her. I start hearing running water, and I snicker to myself, remembering the thought of her sitting like a waterfowl in the tub.

In the hallway bathroom, I take a moment to gaze upon myself in the mirror above the sink. I remove my mask, place it in my cloak pocket, and just stare at myself. This is me, whether or not I want to believe it.

I'm hideous. I wish I could just cut off these ears and tail and forget about everything. Curse my father for choosing a relationship with a Chimera over a real person. How did I get so unlucky as to end up with such a rare mutation? It's rare, which means it's basically not supposed to happen.

I push my hands down on my head, covering my ears and flattening them against my hair. I move my hands off slowly and my ears pop back up. For the first time, I hiss at my reflection, baring my teeth as if that would suddenly make my problems go away.

Cota's shower is running. Honestly, I thought she'd be taking a birdbath. Hehehe, birdbath. I crack myself up. Get it? Crack! Birds lay eggs!

My mood quickly changes when I glance at my reflection. No amount of avian puns can fix this.

I take a facecloth and wet it under the sink. I wipe my face with the cloth, making sure to give extra care to my eyes.

Once I'm done, I fold the towel and neatly set it atop the sink counter.