Paparazzi

Carl was a speedy old man that's for sure.

He swears up and down that Carl is faster than any knight's or king's horse.

Carl's smart too as he only has to guide Carl when there's multiple paths, and even then Carl is intelligent enough to wait for directions.

He really got best pick.

He doesn't live too far from the capital. Maybe getting there by evening with Carl's speed, but there's a bit of a problem.

"Theseus! Oh Prime it's Theseus!" He hears someone yell.

Yah, he's a bit popular, especially now that he is of age.

He was lucky enough to leave the army a week before turning of age so they weren't as push to meet him or ask for his hand in marriage.

Prime why do people simp for him?

He can't understand why. He doesn't think he made himself look to attractive.

He more modeled himself to be see able and look like someone else of similar stature.

Golden blonde hair and blue eyes are really noticeable so it's good for being identified by his comrades.

His wings couldn't be it, they're weird and make him look scary.

It's probably because he looks rich.

News flash, he isn't; retired military officer doesn't pay well, expressly in this kingdom, and when you're a orphan, and we're a child when you retire.

All in all, government sucks in this kingdom and he wishes it would burn down.

Don't tell anyone that though.

Thinking that could throw him or get you thrown in jail for treason.

Back to the problem at hand.

"These-!" One man tries to yell but Carl's big man speed makes him gone before the man can even say his name.

Carl is so getting the best bath ever after he gets done with what ever the king wants of him.

Some dumb teen boy decides the best way to get him to stop is to jump in front of Carl.

He pulls Carl back and with the dull effort of him and Carl, the teen doesn't get hit.

He can already hear the angry mother scolding the child for jumping in front of a soldier and that the kid is lucky it was Theseus because any other soldier would have trampled him.

The looks he and the kid are getting of of shock, confusion, anger, and amazement makes him want to sink into the abyss and never return.

"Hi!" The kid yelled with a smile, getting up but staying in front of Carl.

"Hi?" He muttered with such awkwardness that you would think he's a shy kid. (Technically he is but he has a persona to keep up)

"Are you really a orphan?"

Damn this kid cuts deep.

"Yes, though I must be going, I have a audience with the king." He says knowing that a adult would quickly come and snatch up the kid after hearing what is being delayed.

As predicted the boy got snatched up by his mother and got his ear chewed out.

He didn't wait for the yelling to stop before alerting Carl to start running.

"Sorry for all the trouble boy. Some people just don't think before they do things." He coos to Carl, rubbing the part of the neck that was pulled on in the abrupt stop.

Carl nays in response.

He chirps a little song to himself.

He stays weary as people seem to think just because he's a predatory bird means he can't turn his caws into a melody.

Yes, he's blabbering gibberish the whole time but it's nice sounding gibberish.

He has meet an avian before and they had a good laugh about people praising gibberish.

The difference between them is he's classified as a elytron and they were a avian. To make it more understandable, he's a predatory bird and the other was a normal bird.

Preditory bird off-humans are rare as they are usually killed or sold to fighting rings. Some are also trained to be assassin's or bodyguard.

Being able to fly and slice someone's throat open is a dangerous ability.

A part of him wishes to meet another elytron. To at least see someone like him would be nice; he never got to see his parents so he doesn't know how he's supposed to look.

He is modeled for efficiency and to look like a normal one of his kind.

He has been told that elytron's should look elegant, powerful, strong, beautiful, knightly, and like something out of legend.

He admittedly made himself look more like how people describe the Angel of Death as they also have black wings though their a crow and he's a raven.

He just made himself look younger.

I haven't told you, have I?

Thomas doesn't remember how he used look like.

He changed his appearance while practicing magic in the army and never was able to stay in one form for long when he was younger.

So now he can never go back as his transformations don't go away, until he's dead.

Of course as you may have realized. The fault of this magic is that you never feel like your in the right skin.

You always feel like you're in a shift and that you need to get out of shift but you don't know how you looked, or you do but you're still changing to look like that so is it even you anymore?

Are you just now the smoke between shifts?

Are you even human anymore?

Can you even call yourself a person when you're now just sentient smoke that has no way of dying because they can't be hit?

Is the only way to die to be hit with a sneak attack or to kill your self?

Can't you just make yourself smoke for the rest of your life?

Can't you be a false god?

Well enough with that. You didn't come here for a rant on physiology.

Thomas has body dysmorphia, who cares?

He has been getting recognized more frequently and it seems word is spreading faster than he can get to town as people line the trail to the capital blabbering things he can't hear from speed and other blabbering.

It's pretty annoying but at least no one is blocking the path anymore after the teen.

Carl, the amazing old man, seems to hate the crowd all the same as he speeds up to leave the crowd in his dust.

He caws a few caws, chirps a few chirps.

Honestly he really hopes whatever the king has for him is important enough for all he has had to deal with just to get some information and a order.

At least that's what he hopes. He doubted the king would give him anything after all these years of retirement.

Now that he thinks of it. The story books always had stories of heroes getting married to royalty.

He really wishes that isn't what happens.