Cold breath. Dust in my throat.
I'm in a crack of broken stone with sky showing where a roof should be. Ribs of something huge arch overhead. Not bone, ruined masonry shaped like bone. Great. Mood architecture.
Wings. I have wings.
…Huh.
I twitch. Feathers. A beak. Tiny claws. Cute package. zero warranty.
Welcome,Fletchling.Tutorial:Breathe.Look.Learn.
Oh good. Pop-ups. At least it's not ads.
I breathe. I look. The city below noisy as it should be. Heat. Smoke. Salt on the air, faint. Bells somewhere, not cheerful.
Memory tries to load. A screen. Streetlights over wet asphalt. Then nothing. Did I die? Did I....? Found hard to even think with bird brain.
Footsteps. Small ones. Careful on stone.
I peek over the edge of my little hole. A girl climbs a cracked stair with both hands. Dark hair. Purple eyes.
Behind her, a woman follows with the patience of someone who has learned to move without wasting pain.
"Slowly, my sun," the woman says. Warm voice. Sweet melody in my tiny ears.
"Mother, look." The girl points at me. "A red-breast."
Not a robin, kid. Upgrade model. Limited edition. Try not to catch me.
She kneels. I should bolt. Everything says bolt. I don't.
Her hand is small and warm. She doesn't grab. She offers.
I lean in, just enough to say I understand a gentle rule when I see one.
BondFormed: Rhaenys L1(Curiosity).
Rhaenys. That name rings a bell I can't place. History class? Myth wiki? Don't jump to conclusions. One clue isn't a map.
The woman in silk dress, tired eyes takes us both in. Me. The hand. The hopeful face.
"If he stays," she says, "you are gentle. And you wash your hands after."
"Always," the girl says. "Can we keep him?"
The woman exhales through her nose. A little pain there. A lot of love. "You may try." She glances at me. A faint smile. "If he agrees."
Agreement. Cute. I hop once. Deal.
They carry me out of the ruin into light and leaves. A garden that pretends the city isn't sharp. Lemons hang bright on dark branches. Wind moves the shade. Somewhere nearby, guards shift weight with the clink of cheap repairs.
The girl studies me like I'm a puzzle she wants to solve without breaking.
"I'll call you Velmir," she decides. "You are bright, but you look like...."
Velmir. Works. Short. Honest.
The woman crouches so we're eye level. "I'm Elia." Soft, rounded consonants. "We will be kind. We will be careful."
Kind and careful. Put that on a wall.
NewSkill:RoostNewSkill:KeenEye
Keen Eye does… exactly what it says. The garden sharpens. One guard bored. One alert. One mean. I file faces. I file how they look at Elia, and how Elia ignores it like she know.
Later...
I drink from a shallow bowl. I eat a seed from a small palm. I fight the urge to poop on silk. Growth.
A familiar bald man glides along the path under our balcony. Powder scent. Shoes that make no sound unless he chooses. Smile like lace. Eyes like a liar.
"The little princess has a little bird," he says. Not to us. To the air. His Common is precise.
Princess?
Do not panic. Multiple cultures have princesses. Purple eyes happen, maybe. Familiar faces might appear. A city look exaclty like somewhere in series I believed watched before. Coincidence piles up as fast as anxiety, that's all.
He looks up at me. We regard each other like two birds in a polite drawer.
WITSavevs.FalseKindness:Success(barely).
Noted.
Afternoon settles. Servants move like they're trying not to hear their own steps. Elia sits with a hand at her side, breath shallow, smile steady. The girl, Rhaenys builds towers out of smooth stones. She hums a tune that sounds so sweet for her age, talented.
I patrol the low wall. Shadow, light, shadow. A cat blinks at me from a pot. We agree to a truce until dinner.
Metal clings. Wrong sound. My feathers prickle.
A boy in fine wool slips through the arch. Jaw set like he thinks that makes him a man. A little lion stitched above his heart. Okay, that's a clue. Still not proof. Could be any heraldry with bad taste.
He carries a cloth-wrapped bundle. His eyes flick to Elia. Past her, to a side door. Not here for games.
He spots Rhaenys. Something ugly moves under his expression, then hides. He adjusts the bundle.
Not bread.
Knife.
QuestStarted:Protect the Princess.
NewSkill:QuickAttack
My body decides before I do. One sharp beat. A burst like somebody kicked on a fan inside my chest.
I slam his ear. Not much weight, but speed stings. He curses and drops the bundle. Metal clatters. Everyone hears that.
Elia is on her feet, hand out, voice low. "Guards."
The bored one wakes up. The alert one is already moving. The mean one smiles in a way I do not like.
The squire, because that's what he is, just older cheekbones grabs for the knife. I hit his wrist. Again. Again. He flinches, looks up, and for one stupid second gets into a fight with a bird.
Bad move. The guard reaches him. Blade kicked away. Hands behind his back. The mean guard looks disappointed it was that easy.
Rhaenys stops humming. She doesn't cry. She tucks me against her collarbone and holds me so I can still breathe. Smart kid.
Elia places herself between the boy and the girl with that quiet shape of the body that says: not today.
The boy pants. Tries a grin. Boastful even in a bind. he says too fast. "Just a, just a joke."
No one laughs.
Elia's voice stays warm, but there's iron in it now. "You will go with the captain. He will talk to your lord."
She doesn't look at the lion on his chest. She doesn't have to.
The guards drag him off. The mean one squeezes harder than necessary. I note it. I note everything.
Elia kneels to Rhaenys's height. "Easy now," she says. "Breathe with me. In. Out."
They breathe. I match them because bodies like patterns, even tiny ones.
Elia meets my eyes. There's a kindness. "Thank you," she says. Simple. No fuss. "He stays, dear. But we remember our rules."
"Gentle," Rhaenys says, voice small and steady. "And wash hands."
"Good girl."
Rhaenys strokes my head with one finger. Careful. Memorizing the shape of me like I'm a friend she wants to keep.
BondIncreased:Rhaenys L2(Trust).
Warmth blooms under my skin. Not metaphorical. Actual heat. Like a coal taking air.
NewSkill:EmberI-Exhaleacoal−hotspark(cost:3FVR).
Test? Later. Not near drapes. I'd like to keep living.
Evening comes on. The city changes key. Fewer hawkers. More boots. The sky goes the color of dark. A bell rings that isn't for prayer. Somewhere, a man laughs the wrong way. The garden tries to pretend it's safe.
I settle on the stone near Rhaenys's window. Roost, the new thing says. Heal. Watch. Try not to overthink.
Princess. Lion. Violet eyes. Red Keep. Three Headed Dragon Banners. Medivial...
Is this?
No. Not yet. Build the case. Don't play the meta card until the hand is good.
Rhaenys leans on the sill and whispers like we're conspirators.
"You are Velmir," she says. "I will be kind. You will be brave."
Fair trade.
She yawns. Elia lifts her. "Hands," Elia reminds. Rhaenys washes without complaint and gives me a solemn nod like I'm part of the ritual now.
Lights dim. Servants move softer. The garden smells like usual.
I practice one tiny Ember at the far end of the sill. Just a dot. It glows, then dies. The stone holds a little warmth after.
Yeah. Okay. I'm small.
But I'm fire.
And I'll burn. Just kidding.
[
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link: https://patreon.com/MorpheusGrey
]