A Dead Man Walking
After learning the reason why Millia was flustered back there, I hurriedly made my way toward my room.
Wasting no time I summoned the 3 crows of mine and soon their bodies started to appear out of a shadow.
I was about to raise my voice but seeing how cute their little brown eyes were I composed myself a little bit.
"Cotton....."
*Chirp?*
"Where did you go earlier this morning?"
*CHIRP* *CHIRP*
"Okay, so you felt hungry."
*CHIRP*
"So you decided to look for food?"
*CHIRP*
"Where did you find your food, then?"
*CHIRP* *CHIRP*
"You found a girl eating grapes near a bench."
*CHIRP*
"What did she look like?"
*CHIRP* *CHIRP*
My eyes widened but I composed myself just as quickly.
Calm down, Troi.
Black hair and brown eyes?
There are a lot of people with those features including me.
It could've been anybody.
Wait,
"Did she perhaps have a black tail full of scales?"
Please, say no.
Please, say no.
Please, say no.
Please, say no.
Please, say no.
With bated breath, I waited for Cotton to utter a word.
*CHIRP*
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
My 3 crows jerked back in surprise as they heard my screams of anguish.
*CHIRP!?*
I took another deep breath to calm myself down.
In my mind, I was rationalizing things.
Okay, It's fine.
I just have to be careful whenever I summon my crows in the future.
So, Millia could never figure out that I'm the owner of this gluttonous crow.
But in the meantime.
I slowly gaze my eyes towards Cotton.
Should I scold him?
*Chirp?*
"You did a bad thing, Cotton."
*CHI-CHIRP!*
"But don't worry, I'm not angry."
"I'm just disappointed."
*CHIRP!!!!!!!*
Cotton immediately hopped towards me and started to bite my jeans.
There were tears starting to form in his eyes.
But with my arms crossed, I didn't pet nor comfort him.
"MASTER, MASTER!!!."
Huh?
Did he just talk?
"COTTON BAD, COTTON SORRY."
I couldn't hold back any longer.
I let out a sigh and looked at the small bird biting my jeans.
Slowly I picked him up and started to caress his dark feathers.
"There, there, just don't go anywhere without my permission, next time."
*CHIRP* *CHIRP*
"Anyways, get some sleep guys, tonight I will need you in tip-top shape."
*CHIRP!*
[Companion of Crows have been deactivated]
As they returned to where they came from.
I made my way towards the bed to relax my body and my mind.
Tonight, there will be no more delays.
******
The sounds of combustion coming from hovering cars and people walking along the sidewalk accompany the grand city that never sleeps.
Its towering skyscrapers could almost reach the sky and its highway roads could stretch over the horizon.
Among the crowd beneath, there were men of different faith and nature.
Some harbored long ears.
Some had tusks.
Some had tails.
But even so, whenever they look at the blue ether above, a smile appears on their faces.
The transparent white shield that protects each and every one of them stands tall.
A clear reminder that they were now in an era of peace.
Safe from the enemies beyond the sea.
All thanks to a crown that lies in the center of the grand city.
But beneath such kingdom.
There laid another.
One deeper than the pipes and the sewage.
Where it's forever night.
For the rays of the sun could never reach such a place.
Home to the faithless and the wicked.
Littered with buildings created from scrap.
It was a place where you could either live among the rats.
Or murder and maim your way to the top.
A haven for the hushed hunters.
Of both men and monsters.
The crushed city of Deephollow.
And at the center laid a sanctuary for the slaughterers.
Where only those who had left a pile of bodies in their wake could ever reach such a place.
The Agency of Assassins.
But at the deepest part of its cloaked walls.
A man dressed in a grey cloak scratched his head as he looked through the window of a room.
"She's still not awake, huh?"
The person next to him shook his head.
"She's been steadily recovering but still hasn't gained consciousness,"
"Damn, never thought, that Sierra could be reduced to such a state."
"Well we've done everything we could for today, let's hit the bar."
The two men soon made their way out.
While the girl littered with bandages slept soundly.
Until,
Her blue eyes opened to the sight of the concrete ceiling.
Slowly she sits her body upright.
Feeling the aching of her skin.
She let out a groan.
Her entire body was in pain.
But she didn't care at all.
"I made it back successfully."
She then turned her gaze towards her wounds.
And as she took off some of the bandages, she saw how bad the state of her body was.
Countless burns and bruises scattered across her skin.
But she knows.
The one that hurt her the most was the unhealed wound on her shoulder.
"That f*cker...."
"You're a dead man walking, Unseen Threat."
"A dead man walking."