Princess of Balbadd (Magi x Reader)

Philanthropy of Phoenixes

Every sensation just increases the budding joy inside.

~*~

The last three islands of the Sindrian Archipelago quickly near as the ship slices through the waves. There are no plans for them currently, but they are still part of the cluster. You thought the forests on the main island were lush, but the green here is so rich and deep.

The ship weighs anchor and your group rows out to the middle island. Some supplies including wood to replace the steering wheel's spokes are needed before the final stretch back to the capital.

As the boat pulls into the shore, you see a pair of gigantic red birds sail overhead. You point out the beautiful creatures and watch them as they glide over the trees in harmonious color. They fly back and forth, gaining altitude with each turn. Following the golden tips of their tail feathers as the pair bobs and weaves, it felt like they were writing a message or drawing a picture. Eventually they're far enough away that you lose track of them.

"Come Princess (y/n)," Ja'far calls, "Lets see if there's any dead wood to gather. Then we can make a fire for dinner."

Content to see he's finally letting you help out, you wave that you're on your way to join him. Mystras starts to follow, but is stopped by a giant hand on his shoulder.

"I'll go with 'em," Hinahoho says sternly, "You keep an eye on the little ones."

"Um, yeah sure," Mystras nods, slightly confused. As your trio enters the woods, he claps his hands and addresses the remaining boys, "All right, who's up for a scavenger hunt?"

As you approach the base of the mountain, you've gathered only a few thin branches. At least Ja'far carries enough for a decent fire and Hinhahoho found two branches big enough for the ship's wheel that he strapped to his back. Honestly, there is so much to take in that dead twigs are the last thing you are looking for now. The place feels like a nice retreat for whenever you would need to escape palace life.

Exploring further, you start to hear an obnoxious sound. The sharp pitch grows louder as you near the source and you can make out it's a sort of chirp. Pushing a few leaves aside, you reveal a newly hatched baby bird on the ground of a small clearing. It's a wrinkly, featherless ugly thing. Loud too. But the pile of crisp leaves it's sitting in does not seem to be it's nest. You look to the trees to see if you could spot where it must have fallen from.

"I don't see it's nest anywhere," you comment.

Hinahoho also looks up. "Maybe it's further up this cliff," he whistled, "That would have been some drop."

Ja'far tilts his head in thought. "If so, it's a wonder it survived such a fall."

"Maybe the canopy cushioned the fall?" you suggest and stare back at the bundle of red skin squawking away.

You feel pulled into a trance. This noisy fowl has a fire of potential that will not be realized as it cannot survive on the forest floor. It's family is probably missing him. He's alone and hungry with no way to digest an un-regurgitated worm. He wants to get back. Back up the mountain.

"I think I spotted where it's nest might be," announces Hinahoho, pulling you out of your daze.

As your eyes break from the bird to look at what he found, you notice Ja'far is gaping at you.

"What?" you ask.

Abashed, he answers, "Sorry. You were humming and it had a very calming effect."

He points to the baby bird and you notice that the screeching stopped. But humming? Your fingers feel your mouth and throat trying to recall until you realized you were. A song the servants used to sing to you. A lullaby. It must have come out subconsciously while looking at that little creature either as a coping mechanism to counter the mind numbing chirping or were you...actually communicating with him?