The City in the Sky

Chapter 4

It was a good thing that Philza had thought ahead and prepared quite a large pot with soup for both himself and his guest, who he yet had to figure out his name. He usually had more complex meals, since soup can get a bit boring when you have too much of it, but it was the fastest warm food he could make as well as one that will be easy on the other's throat.

The day was spent in a constant switch between watching his guest and patrolling the island for any kind of threat that could have come with or after the arrival of the pink haired stranger. Even though he deemed the man rather harmless due to his weakened state and sickness right now, there was a small voice that constantly reminded him that he is a stranger from the ground, a place where his people once were hated and outcasts.

Plus, hearing that the city is now known as nothing more than a treasure to find and pillage only made him more anxious and protective over his home. And as much as he hated to admit it, his guest could just be straight up lying to him and try to kill him and rob the city himself once he's back on his feet.

That's why he only ever left the man by himself when he was asleep and even then he leaves Brian with him just in case. His beloved crow may be chaotic, but he will defend his home just as ferociously as Phil would himself.

When nightfall came again and the stranger had been fed his evening meal, Phil found himself sitting on one of the  branches of the large tree he had his nest in. It gave him a great view over the island and the abandoned city. Looking down at all the destroyed houses did make him sad sometimes. He can still tell which one used to be his, where he and his family lived before they passed away.

As soon as his parents and sister had died, he had made himself his nest home in the tree, far away from the quickly annoying praises and the constant worshipping. He had grabbed all sentimental items from his old home and brought it to his nest, then allowed the rest to be used by the people that needed them, like clothes or left over food.

Though most people immediately voted for it being somewhat of a memorial for the family.

Phil sighed and played with one of the thin gold chains around his wrist, trying to focused on the glittering gold instead of the dark thoughts in his mind. He should be happy right now, he has someone else here, another human, he's finally not alone anymore, but the possibility of the stranger being a traitor doesn't allow his mind to be happy about it.

A crow shrieking made him look back up. His crow. He turned back to his nest and climbed down a few branches, just to see that his guest was dragging himself out of the comfort of blankets and pillows, pulling himself up a branch towards where Phil was sitting. "Whoa whoa hey what are you doing?" The winged man quickly climbed back down to him to try and stop him from moving. His guest groaned in discomfort when Phil lifted him up and brought him back to the nest bed.

"What were you thinking?! You could have fallen down! You're nowhere near your old strength yet!" Phil didn't know if he should be angry or just concerned for his guest's health, or maybe just both. He could have died and it would have been Phil's fault! When he pulled away to grab the fallen blanket, the man grabbed his arm to keep Phil there. "What? Something wrong?" He didn't mean for it to come out so harshly, but the stress didn't allow his voice to soften in time.

Yet the stranger didn't seem bothered by the anger in his voice, only looking up at him with the same concern he had shown to the other earlier. "Y-ou... sa-d." The man's voice was hoarse and broken and it sounded incredibly painful, but he held on to Phil's arm anyways as he looked up at him. The bird didn't know what to say at first because it was true, he was sad, about a lot of things really, but it didn't feel right to dump it all on someone he barely knows.