It's become a habit of yours to feed crows. While their dark feathers are far from beautiful compared to doves, most people underestimate the intelligence crows possess. Not only do they remember someone by their faces, but they also display a sort...
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I almost lost track of time. The moment I stepped foot into the guest room, a tall grandfather clock greeted me, flashing it's face directly at me. It's 1 AM. I'd usually be asleep at 11 or 12 at most, but staying over at a stranger's house, especially one holding me captive, makes the thought of sleeping less appealing. Now, here I am, back in my semi Victorian-like guest bedroom, zoning out.
Should I find a way to escape? More importantly, how am I gonna clock in at work tomorrow if I'm not even allowed to leave the house? And, even if I managed to escape, would I know the route back towards Linkon? Without even realizing it, I was already sitting on the bed, deep in thought.
A loud caw brought me back from my mind space. Mephisto flew in through the small ventilation opening right above the bedroom door. It perched on the bed frame, tilting its head to the side, then cawed.
"What?" I asked in return, not quite understanding what he was saying.
Mephisto cawed several times. It then flew to perch on my left shoulder, his head tilting downwards to my collarbone. What I didn't realize was that he was tying the pendant Sylus took earlier.
"Oh, the necklace?" the crow cawed in response. "Did you steal it from Sylus? Will that get me in trouble?" looking down, I inspected the pendant in my hands. The pendant, which stored the Aether Core fragment, was oddly shaped and had a yellowish green gem embed on the surface. "Why is it so important anyway?"
Mephisto cawed for a minute long, as if he was giving an explanation. But, of course, my lack of bird language made it hard to understand him.
"Could you write that down? Or, like, point objects, draw a picture, anything to help me understand?" I eyed Mephisto with furrowed brows, which he returned with an offended glare.
Hastily, the crow began to turn its head around the room, as if looking for something. He then flew over to a pair of thin framed glasses on a table across from the bed. But, before you could question him, he began to fly again; a framed butterfly, a vase full of blooming white tuberose, then lastly to a pristine white towel on the bedside table. Mephisto stay perched on the towel, staring at you expectantly.
"Uh, glasses, frame—" the crow cawed loudly, as if correcting me. "Uh, butterf—" this time, he pecked me playfully on the hand.
"Ouch, okay. Uh, insect?" Mephisto's silence urged me to continue. "Glasses, insect, flower, towel?" I was deep in thought as silence enveloped the whole room. It felt like I was cracking Da Vinci's code. "Gift?"
Mephisto nodded it's head with a caw, but somehow still stared at me expectantly. 'Go on, you're close to the answer,' his eyes told.
What could it possibly be? I thought for a moment, until I came with a conclusion. "It's a blessing?" glancing at Mephisto, the crow nodded his head vigorously with a caw. "Are you saying that it has something to do with how I turned into an Evolver?"
Mephisto cawed, yet again. After a brief pause, he continued to caw some more, as if adding a note to his previous statement.
A grunt of annoyance was all I could respond with. "Your owner needs to add a language setting. Tell him I said that."
"No need," the bedroom door creaked open, followed by Sylus walking inside. He wore a bath robe, maroon with an accent of black, exposing plenty of his broad chest and abdominal muscle. "If your eyes are swords, you'd be tearing my chest apart by just staring," he stopped by the table, grabbing the pair of glasses on top of it.
"You're so confident, walking around in a bath robe," I remarked, casting my gaze back to Mephisto on the bed frame. Hopefully the dim lighting would mask the blush on my face.
I heard him chuckle, his footsteps growing closer to the bed I sat on. "I wear whatever's comfy. Forgot there's a kitten staying at my house tonight," a sliver of black mist tilted my head up to meet his gaze. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"
"No," resisting the mist's strength was impossible, so I glanced down instead. (Un)fortunately, his abs blocked my line of sight, causing me to dart my eyes up to the black ceiling. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know about the language setting," considering his towering height, he easily took a step forward, his face looking down at me to block the gorgeous ceiling from my sight. "You love the ceiling so much, don't you?" he mocked, a playful smirk etched to his face.
"Oh, yeah. The black is so mesmerizing and the white lists, with its intricate carvings, gives a nice transition from the ceiling to the maroon wallpaper," my voice dripped with sarcasm as I stared back at him with a nonchalant expression. With how close his face were to mine, I can smell the subtle fragrance of his soap — a refreshing mix of minty, eucalyptus scent.
"You've got sharp eyes," Sylus stared intently into my eyes, his face inching closer with each second.
"CAW!" Mephisto cried, flailing his wings around. Sylus curtly broke the eye contact, the mist dissipating along as we both glanced at Mephisto. With how many caws he had screeched, it sounded like a parent scolding his teenage kids to stop making out in front of him.
"What's he saying?" you whispered to Sylus, who was still quiet to listen to Mephisto's every single caws.
"He's literally scolding you," Sylus finally spoke. "Also, to be cautious," his vague answers left you with more questions than answers. But, instead of explaining, the man simply stuffed his glasses into his robe's pocket and turned on his heels.
"Hey, what do you mean be cautious?" my question didn't stop him from walking to the door, followed by Mephisto.
"Get some rest. I'll drive you to work tomorrow," was all he said as he closed the door behind him.
The absence of Sylus's presence made me wonder more. His sudden change of demeanor, Mephisto's warning, the pendant's mystery, my new Evol. Questions began to swarm every nook and cranny of my mind.
As the air grew colder, I found myself pulling up the blanket over my shuddering body. The alluring scent of tuberose soothed my anxiety ever so slowly. It managed to put me in a trance, lulling me to sleep within the next 30 minutes. I just wished I wouldn't get any more nightmares.
