Alone

Liss was left alone for hours, and Feng Huang was nowhere to be seen.

But there was still sunlight and a lovely house to clean, so no mind was spared for a snob chicken.

'There's no one better at appeasing old people. Let him cool off while I clean the house.'

Without any help she cleaned the whole house with a makeshift broom, the house wasn't in good shape yet, but it was rid of dust. Liss wanted water and soap, a good broom, and a cloth to clean it completely, to show that she wasn't like the other females, that she could live without a mate, and that there was no need to babysit her like her friends did.

The alien mind wandered back to Feng Huang, an arrogant centenary beast that has impeccable looks, knowledge, and frightening strength. The title immortal didn't sound right, felt uncanny when she thought about the words normally used in that world and how some had different meanings. 

While sweeping the floor, the silence of being alone for once allowed her mind to wander.

There was no reason for her to struggle so much, since the first moment she realized her situation she focused on staying alive. 

'But why?'

As the only child of a billionaire heir, she had no worries about money, her education was impeccable and the prospects were looking good, except the fact that her life was a nightmare. During the day she lived a normal life, school, homework, and car trips with her father, but as soon as night fell her mother like a tyrant would drag her to the basement. 

As if planned, during her first years of childhood, her mother would order her to build parts of the machine that only a really small person could fit inside. Little Liss used to spend hours inside a metallic box in uncomfortable positions with pointy parts piercing her tender skin.

Then when she was done with that part she had to transcribe what her mother mumbled during her research hours. Liss would sit for hours typing on a computer and every time her mother found a fault, she would be punished. 

But it all changed when her father left. There was no fight for custody, no divorce, no warning, as soon as Liss graduated, she was greeted with a letter, a bouquet on top of her bed, and the absence of her father.

But to all of it, Liss was never hurt, to her nothing was wrong, there was nothing to care.

Liss was groomed to be rational, to analyze, to find cause and effect, and to obey. Her life wasn't hers and she was aware and so, she was terribly bored. She could never make friends because she couldn't bring herself to care. 

'They expected too much from someone who has nothing to give.'

There are those people who are naturally magnetic, souls who seem to have the answers to everything, their calm being reassuring and their bravery being fun. 

But in the mirror, the girl saw a corpse, a shell. Hollow, she had no hope for change, her god is a madwoman, and destiny is written on stone, no hope, no expectation, no fun. Liss was born for her mother.

'I came alone, she is all alone, I have no one, she has no one.'

Liss was nice to a fault, she had no reason not to be, to her there was nothing that couldn't be solved, no wrong that couldn't be fixed. But what to do when the other is gone?

Tears fell down her face, and just then she noticed she was frozen in place, staring at the clear sky.

...

Feng Huang took off and flew far above, his blood was boiling because of the annoying tug he felt on his heart.

He knew the feeling even though he rarely felt it, he regretted his actions.

'I was shortsighted. I saw through my pride."

He thought of going back but the idea of having to comfort a crying female was too much, but then again, she always surprised him with her actions so out of curiosity he descended in silence and watched from afar.

A golden pebble was playing unbothered with some leaves while he was the one having strong emotions alone.

He spent the following hours like that, watching her from afar, at the top of a nearby tree as she cleaned the house, talking to herself. Even after hours, he didn't stop her. He had no intention of cleaning the house himself, the thought alone made him want to take her back to avoid labor, so he watched the little female with amusement, to him, she looked like a squirrel preparing for winter. 

To someone who lived enough to see tribes grow and wither, things lose their luster, emotions become rare and living becomes tiring. 

When he noticed that the girl, who up until that moment seemed unfazed, was dazed looking at the vast sky he paid more attention. The little female was surprising him at every turn and so he became curious, to feel that way again was pleasant but his fun didn't last long and he saw her tears.

He wasn't keen on going down and comforting her but she was just a youngster and she did clean the whole house for them. He paid no mind to the fact that he swept her away from those she was already comfortable with and mistreated her. With the use of his wings, he stood next to her in no time fixing his hanfu.

After living for so long some things start to seem useless and for Feng Huang one of those is planning. He already dismissed his first plan of action and took the female with him, and now he was considering keeping her for a little longer. After his harsh words and rude behavior, he deemed it right to give her compensation, he remembers her words and her desire to explore places and there was no one better than him to oblige.