"Trusting the Caretaker"

Aesop peeked down to see who the noisy person was. When he saw that it was Lia, he was relieved that she was okay and that she had quickly recovered. Excitedly, he jumped down and flew towards her. He feared that Lia would fall again, especially in his territory. He had the strong urge to protect her; for him it was because she almost died because of his vulture wings. He would never wish to kill anyone because of his mutation; instead he would like to use it in a positive way.

While maintaining his flight in the middle of the room, he spoke to Lia in his deep voice, "Go back down."

Lia saw Aesop's worried look. She gave him an affirmative look, then walked back down as Aesop guarded her side. He didn't want another accident to happen.

As soon as she reached the floor, Aesop landed and faced her and said, "Don't walk up, ever. Okay?"

"How can I clean the lofts, then?" Lia replied. She looked at Aesop's feathers which were scattered in the room. "Your feathers are everywhere. I think I will need to climb up and clean the lofts."

"I'll carry you." said Aesop with a serious face. "I don't want you to fall again."

Lia knew that she shouldn't feel embarrassed because he was just being helpful, but imagining him topless and embracing her made her heart race like crazy.

Aesop was waiting for Lia's reply. He stared at her, confused and wondering what made her stare at his bare abdomen. "Hey…" He waved his hands in front of her eyes.

Lia snapped out of her wild imagination, and realized that she had been staring at his 6-pack abs! She was so embarrassed and changed the topic, "Mr. Aesop, uhm… Aren't you cold? Why don't you wear a jacket?"

"I don't need one… My wings can keep me warm." he said as he showed her that he can cover himself with his big, brown wings. "I can even make you warm. Would you like to try?" It was a sincere invitation, and his intentions were pure.

But Lia wasn't prepared for this, and she thought, "What is this mutant saying? Did he know that I might get the wrong idea?" But then, she thought that Aesop might not have any experience in love because of his condition. She knew that every time she'd feel embarrassed because of Aesop, it was only her own problem. It was one-sided.

"No, thanks! I think I'm... warm enough…" Lia uttered as she turned her back on him to hide her rosy, red cheeks. She decided to change the topic to hide her embarrassment. "Why don't I cook for you?"

The vulture mutant nodded and followed Lia to the kitchen.

Lia took the recipe tablet from one of the metal drawers. She placed her left hand at the back of the tablet and her right hand to swipe the menu. While standing, her arms rested atop the center counter and she leaned forward, staring at the screen. Aesop was at the kitchen's doorway arch, staring at Lia.

"Mr. Aesop, why don't you sit down here," she said, pointing at the bar stool near her. "Come, choose your food."

Upon her invitation, Aesop walked forward and sat on the black, bar stool. He peeked at the recipe tablet, seeing the meat dishes.

While Lia was swiping down the pages on the screen, she glanced at him, noticing a look of frustration in his face. "What's wrong? Don't like these?"

"Cook anything you want," He then stood up. But before he could walk away, Lia noticed the wounds on his wings.

"Wait!" Lia shouted, and placed down the tablet on the center counter. "May I see your wings?"

"Why?"

"Don't move, I think I saw blood," Lia moved forward. "Trust me, okay? I'll just take a look." While occasionally glancing at him, she gently touched his feathers.

"What are you doing?" Aesop asked, confused.

"Please stay still, Mr. Aesop," She looked closely at the roots of his feathers. She was right; what she saw was blood!

"Hey… Is it blood?" Aesop asked. He felt his itchy back and flinched in pain when Lia touched some of his feathers.

"I think you need to see a doctor…" she said worriedly.

Aesop frowned, as he didn't like the idea of letting someone from the research facility to examine him. In his early days there, one of the scientists did an awful experiment on him. He was a vulture, so the scientists had expected him to also have corrosive stomach acid, because vultures in the animal kingdom are scavengers and can eat decaying corpses. On the day of the experiment, they tied him up on a chair and they forcibly fed him rotten goat meat! He can still remember vividly, the smell of old blood, and the hideous appearance of the crawling maggots. He almost died that time, and even had a nervous breakdown. Even though he was put into a terrible state, the scientist even had a promotion! That was the main reason why he was being disobedient and uncooperative.

Aesop hates all of them. For him, they're the real monsters, not the mutants.

Lia saw the doubt in his golden eyes. "He must have a reason, but we're not close enough, so I couldn't ask such a personal question." She thought, as she moved at his side.

"I don't need a damn doctor, or any of those damn scientists," Aesop said, glaring at Lia. "Don't force me." He balled his fists out of anger from a distant memory.

"Please don't get mad, I am just concerned!" Lia exclaimed. She wanted to convince him. "Please trust me, Mr. Aesop."

He stared at Lia's deep blue eyes, as if searching for her true intentions. She had only talked to the caretaker for a few moments, but she was in his repetitive nightmares. For him, perhaps it was a mixture of guilt from her previous fall, his fear that someone will die in front of him, and an unknown feeling that was somehow new to him and had to get accustomed to. For him, she was a separate entity from all D.M. Cadre employees.

"Fine," Aesop finally said, while looking at Lia's delighted face. "But you should be with me."