The new day came like any other.
'FINALLY! I thought a good sleep would never come!'
Kristen jumped out of her nest with renewed confidence from the good rest that she had. Instead of waiting for Olivia to make breakfast like usual she decided to try it out on her own, reaching down in some of the crevices she grabbed a couple of slices of meat.
'UHhhhhhhhhhhhh err..'
She looked at the food in her hand and had a very convenient mind blank.
The first thing that popped into her mind was the fire that Olivia usually started to cook the food so she grabbed a couple of twigs and rubbed them together fiercely.
A small plume of smoke escaped the wood and was followed by the spark of warmth.
Heat washed over face as she held the stick in front of her eyes, instantly mesmerised by it. Waving it in front of her a few times for good measure, she put it down with some other pieces of wood and began a fire.
She stabbed the meat on a rather sharp stick and held it over the fire, watching it burn, yummy smells came from it while being cooked.
The embers in the fire crackled as she pulled it back and took a big bite of the meat.
'Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yessssss.'
It melted deliciously in her mouth and almost made her eyes roll back in pleasure. Taking her time with eating it all she looked around and saw that the other two birds hadn't woken up yet which was unusual as anyone within 50 meters would be able to smell the aroma.
Whipping her head back she took another massive bite and groaned in satisfaction.
The meat was soon gone and she decided to go to the training cave to get a bit of practice in before Lucia and Olivia woke up.
On her way there she accidentally knocked over a stick onto her nest, instantly lighting it on fire.
Just as she was about to go into the deeper chambers she smelt some more smoke and looked back at the burning mess of her bed.
'Hmmmmm?'
Staring at it with a deadpanned expression, it took a few seconds before she registered what was happening and ran back with such speed it looked like she was flying.
'NOOOOOOOOO'
She sprinted toward it and flapped her wings in an attempt to lessen the flames but only managed to add more fuel to them.
'FUCK!'
Turning directions she instead went over to the small pool and started splashing water like a madwoman, well, mad-bird.
After about five minutes of struggle the flames finally went down, leaving a small pile of ashes in its place.
Kristen walked up to it with an extremely depressed expression on her face. Bowing silently to acknowledge the death of her nest, she internally said RIP and got to making a new one straight away so the others wouldn't be shocked when they woke up.
Wiping the sweat of her ashy face she proudly looked at her work.
A brand new, shiny nest was in front of her and if she wasn't an extremely dignified person in every minute of everyday then she would have definitely done a little dance around it.
She definitely didn't do that.
Probably.
Settling down in her new bed she waited for the others to wake up. 30 minutes passed before Lucia finally stirred, Olivia stretching right after.
She rolled her eyes at their slow actions but patiently stood by until they were done.
"Why does it smell like smoke?" Lucia asked roughly, still rubbing her eyes.
"It doesn't."
Kristen replied smoothly.
Olivia paused mid-stretch and took a sniff of the air.
A silence fell over the cave before they turned their head suspiciously to the youngest member who still had ash on her face.
Come to think of it, why was there a dark patch where Kristens nest used to be?
"....Where is your bed?"
Kristen cleared her throat and looked away.
"I decided to upgrade."
Olivia blinked drearily. "Upgrade? "
"Yes." Kristen gestured proudly toward the new nest a few meters from her old one. "There's improved structural integrity, better insulation and a stronger position.
Lucia stared at her dubiously.
"…It's a pile of slightly less uneven sticks."
Her eye twitched at the jab.
"Its masterful craftsmanship!"
Olivia hopped down from her own nest and sniffed around Kristens new one, finding a pile black soot behind it.
"…Kristen."
"Yes?"
"Why is there a pile of ashes over here."
Kristen followed her gaze slowly as if noticing it for the first time.
"…Decorative feature."
Lucia wheezed.
Olivia looked back at Kristen's face, then reached out and gently wiped at her cheek. Her talons came away black.
"…You tried to cook, didn't you."
Kristen stiffened.
At these words Lucia couldn't hold it in anymore and started rolling around on the ground, laughing uncontrollably. Kristens cheeks went red as she saw the sight of a slight smile on Olivia's face as well.
The laughing fit soon died down and Olivia got to work on making the actual breakfast. It was as good as any others, perhaps especially good for Lucia as she couldn't stop smirking at Kristen while eating.
Olivia told Kristen afterwards that she was banned from cooking as she didn't want the cave to burn down.
Although her words were genuine it didn't stop the blush that covered all of Kristens face. Walking over to the two, Lucia informed her that today was going to be another training session.
'More like torture session.'
Frustrated at her bad luck, Kristen internally cursed herself for signing up to this hell.
Lucia, oblivious to Kristens frustration, lead her down the cave enthusiastically with a new plan for the next few hours in mind.
They started like the other days, just some repetitive drills and practicing her skills but around halfway Lucia walked in told her to try and spar against her.
"If you manage to land a hit on me, then I will let you leave early." She told Kristen.
'Ohohohooo she's gonna regret that.'
Rushing forward, she smacked her wings against Lucia's face and was met with nothing but air.
"Oh and by the way, I can use illusions in the spar."
Kristen groaned at these horrible words, knowing that it was going to be a long day.