Nora and Alastair cluster around Emily, staring down at the strange, fluffy creature currently chirruping in her arms. The proximity would normally make Emily feel nervous, but she was too distracted by the fluffy bird creature in her arms to notice.

  “Look at the size of the thing!” Nora exclaims, cooing over it, wiggling her fingers near its sharp, open beak. “It’s the size of a dog!”. Narrowly avoiding getting her entire hand guillotined by its snapping jaws, she scratches underneath its chin, and it pauses its attempted maiming long enough to lean into the physical affection. It lets out small, satisfied chirps as it closes its eyes in content. “And what a long neck… I’ve never seen a bird with a neck that long!”

  Emily stroked the bird’s mottled flank, feeling its soft, downy feathers underneath her fingers. “What could it be?”

  Alastair cocks his head, staring at the bird intently. “Well… It’s too big to be a swan. But it’s got the right neck for it. So… My guess? It’s a swan. A monster one.”

  Nora gently taps on the thing’s beak, making it sway slightly. “Can’t be a swan. See that beak? That’s designed to tear into meat. I’ve never heard of a swan eating meat.”

  “Well, it’s a monster swan. Monsters eat meat, right?”

  Nora gives Alastair a look, and he holds up his hands in surrender. “Alright, not a monster. Got it.”

  Alastair leans in even closer, making Emily’s discomfort skyrocket. He runs a finger up and down the thing’s neck, thinking hard. A lightbulb goes off above his head, and he snaps his fingers in realization. “Wait, I’ve got it!”

  He leans back and crosses his arms, a self-satisfied smile on his face. “It’s an ostrich!”

  Nora and Emily stare at Alastair, confused. “An ostrich?” they ask together.

  Alastair nods his head. “Yeah, an ostrich. I heard rumours about them. Long necks, massive size, two muscly legs with sharp talons on the end.” He taps one of said sharp talons, letting out a sharp hiss as it slices right into his finger, drawing blood.

  Emily and Nora look back at the creature, staring for a moment before nodding their heads.

  “Yeah, that seems about right.” Emily says, stroking its hide further.

  “That’s definitely got to be it.” Nora agrees, scratching its head.

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  “Apparently they’re very popular with the nobles. We could probably sell it for a fortune.”

  Emily glares at Alastair. “First you want to crack him open and eat him, and now you want to sell him to some stuffy nobles?”

  She pulls it closer to her protectively. “Why are you already trying to get rid of him?”

  Alastair lets out a sigh as Nora checks for anything that might have heard Emily’s outburst.

  “Emily… We can’t keep him. He’s an ostrich. He was designed to frolic in some noble’s garden, not rough it in a forest. He’d never make it in here, and we can’t be burdened down by…”

  Alastair pauses, his brows furrowing. “Wait… He?”

  Emily rubs her face against him, pouting. “Yes. He’s a he.”

  Nora squints her eyes, looking the creature over and finding nothing particularly he-like about it. “How… Can you tell?”

  Emily pulls her face back, looking the creature over once again. “I can just tell. He’s definitely a he. I’ve always been good at telling. I told my aunt that she was pregnant with a boy, and three months later, she popped out a healthy, bouncing baby boy.”

  Alastair lets out a loud sigh, rubbing his face. “Emily, no. You’re going to get attached.”

  Emily squeezes the creature gently, making it chirrup. “What? He’s a he! That’s not me getting attached. That’s just a fact! I can state facts. That doesn’t mean I’m attached to them.”

  “Fine, fine.” He points an accusatory finger at her. “Just don’t you dare name it.”

  Emily lets out a huff, leaning back and staring at the fluffy creature. The fluffy creature turns its head towards her, its eyes still closed but its nostrils sniffing deeply at Emily. “It’s okay,” Emily says, stroking his head and kissing the top of his head lovingly. “He’s just grumpy because we almost died to a bunch of goblins.”

  At that, Nora pauses her cooing and rubbing, letting out a sigh and standing up. She brushes off the grass from her butt before sweeping her gaze across the forest. “We can still die to a bunch of goblins. We managed to lose them, for now. But they’re still out there.”

  Nora gives Emily a serious look. “So we’ve got to make a choice. What are we doing with the ostrich?”

  Emily lets out a sigh, a frown creasing her forehead as she stares at the creature. A feeling of attachment grows as she watches it shakily hold its head up, its nostrils taking the occasional sniff and its beak opening for the occasional, sweet little coo.

  As Emily watches him, the creature opens its eyes for the very first time. Emily gasps as they lock eyes, Emily’s light blue with his vivid, sky-blue.

  She pulls the creature close to her, giving it a big hug. The creature lets out a ‘skree!’, wriggling to escape her grasp. “Blue! Your name’s Blue!”

  Alastair throws his arms up in the air.

  “Didn’t you hear what I just said?! No names!”

  Emily rubs her face against Blue’s mottled fur, enjoying the slightly cinnamon scent of him.

  “We’re going to be best friends, and you’re going to be the best boy ever! I just know it!”