The Owl and The Crow

Chapter 24: Back Again

This is the shortest chapter yet, but hey, it moves the story along :D

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Miranda's POV

After a long day, you finally sit on your couch with a cup of tea in your hands and the fire blazing in front of you. You look outside of your window and see the raging storm, eventually your gaze moves to the white owl feather on the shelf. You're immediately reminded of Misty and that ping of longing frustration hits you again. You haven't seen nor spoken to her since the festival over two months ago, ever since then, you'd been avoiding her, teleporting away to not risk the awkwardness of speaking to her. You get up and pick up the feather in your hand, turning it over and examining it as you have caught yourself doing many times before.

You can't help but feel like an idiot for being such a coward and running from her. You felt something for her deep down, but refused to admit it to yourself and to her. That would mean weakness and with weakness you couldn't reach your goal of getting Eva back, from getting your Little Crow back home in your arms. No matter how hard you tried though, you couldn't forget the white haired witch, your mind just wouldn't let you. She had made you feel something again, some warmth that you thought your cold soul would never feel again, that warmth that you not only craved but feared to accept.

Snapping out of your deep thoughts, you placed the feather back on the shelf and sighed a bit. You looked out the window again but this time, you saw someone. Someone all too familiar with what you'd been thinking about. You see Misty in the harsh storm, carrying K in her arms and trudging through the layers of snow. You dropped your tea cup and didn't even bother with the probability of the cup being shattered, only one thing mattered right now. The white haired witch outside with that demon child freezing to death.

You rushed outside, your crow wings out and flapping frantically with the urge to move faster. You caught her before she could collapse and dragged her inside along with K and the bag she brought along. You dragged her inside, her pale skin an abnormal blue while K somehow looked much more healthier. You didn't spend too much time on the thought and quickly sprung into action, taking K and laying her on the couch then pushing it closer to the fire. You covered the girl with thick blankets and pushed the couch closer to the fire before rushing back to Misty's side.

You forget about your promise to avoid her completely and grabbed her into your arms. You secure the front door and pick Misty up, her body lighter than air to you. You stoke the fire more and sat on the floor, and despite yourself, you grabbed a giant comforter and sat in front of the couch close to the fire. You wrapped her up in your arms, then your six wings, and lastly the comforter, making a warm cocoon for the very cold witch in your arms. She tries to speak, but you're quick to hush her and start stroking her hair, surprised yet not commenting on the random feathers that appear in her hair.

Misty snuggles into you and you blushed a bit, cuddling her a bit tighter and rubbing her arms to warm her more. There's peace that settles over you, no awkwardness, no avoiding or running away, only warmth, silence, and peaceful contentment. You looked over at K and noticed a small bruise on her head and started to ponder what had happened. It's all a bit suspicious to you but also concerning, seeing them in the snow, the random feathers in Misty's hair, the bruise on K's head and the exhaustion that's in their bodies.

I didn't make any sense to you yet you couldn't piece anything together, and you could ask Misty anything. She was too weak and practically knocked out anyways, so you just sighed gently before closing your eyes and resting, feeling a sense of completeness as you drifted off.

(Word Count: 695)