The Owl House: Bird Cage

《Act 1: Fire And Ash》

Sun was shinin'. Flowers were blooming, birds were singing, and it was finally time for me to return home. Sunny ol' Gravesfield was a quaint little town, one with a dark history, that is. Back in the 1600s, witch hunting was all the rage. Many innocents were killed during this period, and many more went missing. Some even say that the area is haunted, that witches from Mars have come looking for the teeth of regular americans. I've always found these rumours outlandish, if a little interesting. These tales of yore were just the thing I was thinking about as I strolled through the pretty town square. I had been away for quite some time. I was supposed to go to some kinda camp, 'Reality Check Summer Camp'. I missed the bus, and the ride I was able to hitch got a flat tire a quarter of the way there. At that point, I just gave up, The walk back was truly gruelling. I didn't even want to go there in the first place as well! Mother and Father thought my interests in cryptozoology and fantasy were distracting me from schoolwork. Maybe I did skip school once or twice to hunt the infamous 'Owl Beast', but what did that matter? I got mostly Bs anyway! At least I was back home. Perhaps I could pop into the local café, before returning home? I deserved a treat after what I had to go through!

I buried my hands into my pockets and inhaled the smell of cut grass, flowers, and delicious pastries.
I didn't exactly have that much on me. Hopefully, my pocket coupons were still redeemable... I passed by the stone statues of two famous witch hunters and continued up the path towards Robin's Roast Café, one of my favourite places in Gravesfield. Two outdoor tables were propped up outside the small building, and a pretty sign displaying a Robin in a little teacup was hanging above the entrance way. A little bell chimed as I pushed open the door into the cosy little bistro. "Oh hey Gabriel! What can I get ya?" The barista asked me.

"Oh uh- Nothing much. Can I get a burger and a can of soda?" I slid over some coupons, I was something of a regular here, I came around almost every day for a drink.

"Will that be all?" She asked. Most times, I would give in and order something small, but I was rolling on a budget today.

"Eh, I'm good, say, what is this...?" I asked, picking up a strange pamphlet from the counter. It displayed the picture of a young man wearing glasses. He wore what seemed to be homemade battle armour. Firey text above the image read, "Witches: They Want Your Teeth!!!" Huh, guess that's where that rumour came from... Even weirder, the man in the image was flexing while blowing a kiss. He was trying way too hard to appear heroic. It was failing miserably.

"Ugh, I'm honestly not sure. Some witch obsessed guy keeps coming in. He'll leave behind these weird pamphlets, I keep telling him to stop, but he just calls me a jerk and slithers on away. I haven't gotten around to throwing that one out yet. That'll be three dollars for the lot, by the way.''

"Huh, weird. Do you mind if I take it? For a laugh, of course." She shrugged and nodded as I passed her over a few one dollar bills and collected my purchases. I took the booklet, left the building, and sat down at one of the outdoor tables. Soaking in the summer sun, I began to sip my soda and chomp into my burger. The buildings front was mostly made of glass, so I was able to see my reflection in it. My hair was dark brown, it was also decently short, and my skin was fairly dark. My eyes were a deep crimson with even deeper eyebags beneath them. Sheesh, I really need to catch up on some rest... I was wearing my favourite shirt, a faded black one with a print of a ufo on it. Over it, I wore a crimson bomber jacket, and hanging by my side, I also wore a stained leather messenger bag. As for my lower half, I had on dark blue jeans with brown worker boots. Not too bad! Just as I was finishing up my meal, I noticed a fire truck whiz down the road sirens blaring. Down the road in the direction of where I live, I felt my anxiety spike. There's a lot down in that direction, though! Right? Maybe I should just check? Deciding not to risk the possibility my home was on fire, I began to take a walk back down to the cul-de-sac where I lived. Just to check! Better safe than sorry!