Alexia
I stare blankly at the large owl perched on the back of a couch in Astrid’s home. And the owl stares blankly back at me.
Leaving the two of us just staring at each other for several seconds without either of us blinking.
Me because I don’t actually need to blink, what with me being a Quantum Reaper. And the owl because it’s an owl.
The silence stretches on between us for several minutes before Astrid finally enters the room with a tray of little cakes. At which point Astrid asks, “How long have you two been staring at each other?”
I answer, “Ten minutes.”
The owl hoots.
But neither of us break our staring contest.
“Why are you staring at him?” Astrid asks while walking over to the table on the other side of the couch from me.
I continue staring at the owl as I answer, “Because he won’t stop staring at me.”
Astrid hums at that before walking over towards the owl and asking, “Why are you staring at her?”
The owl hoots without saying anything, making Astrid blink in surprise before turning towards me. At which point she says, “Sol is staring at you because he wants you to pet him.”
That almost makes me blink in surprise, but I hold back. Then I reach forwards and pat the owl on the head.
And the owl in question hoots twice softly before blinking at last.
A smile spreads across my face.
I win.
My thoughts go on pause when I notice Luna entering the room from wherever she’s been these past years while I was hunting corrupted creatures. I walk over to the girl as she flies through the room in her bat form before patting her on the head.
Then I walk over towards the couch and sit down while asking, “So Sol was what came out of that elemental egg I gave you?”
It’s not hard to guess. Not when the owl has shadow elemental energy practically spilling out of him and has pitch black feathers.
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And not just regular black, but a sleek and shiny black. With shadows spilling out of them in a rather ominous sight.
Astrid smile and answers, “Yep. And he’s been great ever since hatching.”
I wasn’t really expecting an owl, if I’m being honest with myself.
But Sol is cute, so…
I glance at Sol before turning back to Astrid again. Only to blink and do a doubletake back at Sol when I realize what I just saw.
Sol and Luna are both perched on the back of the couch having a staring contest of their own.
And they continue staring.
And staring.
And staring some more.
I move to whisper to Astrid as I ask, “Why’s he staring this time?”
Astrid just covers her mouth while hiding a chuckle.
What’s going on right now? What’s so funny?
I purse my lips before looking back at the owl and Luna, who continue staring at each other for a very long time. All the way until Luna huffs and turns into her humanoid form right next to the couch.
“See? I can turn into a humanoid form and you can’t!” Luna says as if she’s trying to compete with the little owl.
But the owl just continues staring.
And staring.
And still staring.
Seriously, what’s going on?
Even Luna starts to pout at some point, but by now I’ve lost interest and turn back towards Astrid as I ask, “So how’s The Retreat been doing? It seems to have developed a lot since I was last here.”
And it’s not just the city itself. Just the room I’m in alone is incredibly high tech and fancy.
Which is far better than what I remember.
“We’ve been making a lot of partnerships with other nations, and we’ve grown to be known as the crafting capital of the entire Dimensional Blocks grid,” Astrid answers while still smirking over at Luna and Sol who haven’t stopped staring at each other. “So all the important crafters in the entire Dimensional Block grid have been rushing to move here.”
Huh. That’s interesting.
“Is it because of our protection making this place the safest place in the grid?” I ask out of curiosity.
Astrid nods her head and says, “Correct. And thanks to that, we’ve become the wealthiest power in the entire grid.”
Yeah, that sounds about right.
I wonder how big this place will become in the future?
It’ll definitely be interesting to see.
“Hey! Stop staring at me like that! You can’t even talk!” I hear Luna shouting from the back of the couch, making me glance back again to find her in bat form again on top of the couch. Still staring at Sol as she does so.
I glance at Astrid while asking, “Just how much does that owl like staring at people?”
Astrid starts chuckling again before walking over to me, sitting down on the couch next to me, and whispering in my ear, “Sol’s been asleep ever since you pat him on the head.”
That almost makes me bark out a laugh, but I hold myself back and instead turn to watch Luna continue one-sidedly fighting against Sol with her words.
All without realizing the owl is asleep.
So Sol fell asleep after I pat him on the head? How adorable.
I think I like this little owl.
Luna’s head suddenly turns towards me with her eyes going wide. Almost as if she heard my thoughts or something.
Then she starts looking back and forth between me and Sol before saying, “No! She’s my mom!!!”
And without hesitation, she turns back into her humanoid form and rushes at me, jumping into my lap and clinging onto me.
All without ever realizing that Sol is and has been asleep this whole time.
I glance at Astrid while gently stroking Luna’s hair as she throws a tantrum in my arms, only to find my sister not even hiding her laughter anymore.
And I don’t blame her.
This is hilarious.
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