"Amy! You're here!" William greeted, getting up from his chair and waving.

He was sitting at a small downtown café, small and private, the food seeming delicious from what Amy could see of the plates. Seated opposite William was the man she assumed to be Matthew, who would apparently organise care for her chicks. The man himself was young, not much older than the two Apprentices, with a handsome face and curly blond hair.

"Hello," Amy nodded at them both, moving past the patio fence and taking a seat besides them. Putting out her free hand, the other holding onto the nest-box, she said "I'm Amy, nice to meet you."

"Matthew, pleasure," He grinned, taking her hand and shaking it firmly, meeting her gaze. Matthew's eyes then wandered slightly over to the object nestled under her arm, widening. "Is that... them then?"

"Yes, the chicks," Amy said, placing the box on top of the table and swiping the covering blanket away, revealing them. Barely noticeable, they were larger than before, their coats a bit more fuller with their neck sacks puffy and full. The three chicks' attention snapped onto Amy, only looking anxiously at the other person looking over at them when his head peered over.

"Oh just look at them!" Matthew gushed, about to lower a gentle finger into the box before pausing and turning to her. "May I touch them?"

"Go ahead," She agreed, glancing over at William who had sat back down. Similarly he was smiling at the birds too, admiring them while he finished his cake and tea.

"Fantastic," Matthew said, slowly lowering a finger down to pat the back of one of the chicks' heads, much to their displeasure, trying to shy away. "Do you know how old they are? Or what kind of bird they are too?"

"I believe they're a kind of hawk, and maybe a few weeks old? They seemed young by the time I met them, as if they were born recently," Amy considered, placing a finger on her chin and leaning her head back. "Other than that, I have no idea."

"Better than nothing I guess," He said, leaning back and taking his hand away. Giving an embarrassed smile and scratching the sides of his nose, Matthew apologised, "Sorry for the rudeness by the way, I just couldn't resist when they look so cute."

"No problem, I understand that feeling more than anyone," Amy said, looking around the table. They seem close to finishing fortunately. Matthew seems alright, as William had said, but he's acting too forward, Amy considered studying his face with a couple of quick glances. Awkwardness perhaps? A need to put on a front when meeting a new person? Possibly both. He does seem genuine in his love of birds though. "So what do you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, whether they can be taken in."

"Yes, that," Matthew realised, looking at the birds once again. "I see no reason why they shouldn't take them in, but they'd definitely want to meet you rather than going through someone like me. That way they can get more detailed information and such."

"No problem with me," Amy smiled, a bit sadly, as she joined him in looking at the birds. I have grown attached to them but... I can't support them well enough. Especially with my current lifestyle. If I had stayed at the village, maybe. But going from inn to inn, city to city, travelling? It's just not viable.

"You want to pop over now then? The shop's about twenty minutes from here, near the city outskirts," Matthew asked, turning to William. "Are you finished? Or should we go on ahead?"

"If Amy's okay with it, I'd like to come along," William said, finishing the rest of his tea in a gulp.

"You're more than welcome, William," Amy said happily. "Shall we go then?"

After paying for their bill, the pair led Amy across the city, showing her many sights along the way. In a way, it was a tour for her to get familiarised with Harth, especially now that she was considering staying here a bit longer before heading off back to her family. Got to remember to send them that letter, Amy reminded herself. Don't want them to keep sending letters to Triesen wondering why I'm not responding. Knowing them they'd start considering travelling there to see if I was alright. Forever worrywarts.

And as she got to know him better, she eventually found out that Matthew wasn't actually a Mage, but had gotten to know William through a case he was involved with.

"What was the case then?" Amy asked, curious.

"It was pretty minor looking back on it but at the time it was the scariest thing that had ever happened to me," Matthew grimaced. "Some random Mage was running from a group of enforcers for a crime that William refuses to tell me about."

"And as I always say, all magical cases are confidential," William said in a sing-song tone.

"Much to my annoyance," He muttered. "Anyway, basically he had picked me of all the passer-by's to take hostage, and trained a Spell at me that would 'kill' me on command. Little did I know that the guy was pretty much a dead man walking."

"Someone in my team had infected him with a Poisonous Curse the second I noticed he was looking for hostages," William explained, "And the second he did anything magical, it would trigger."

"I obviously didn't know that at the time, so I was pretty shaken when I went from wondering if that was the last day of my life, to seeing his suddenly rotten body drop to the floor. William over here sensed I was pretty shaken up and he helped me get back on my feet. The rest is history."

"Yep," William said cheerfully. "I reckon he could've done it on his own though."

"Shaken up? I'd be scared to death if I were in your shoes," Amy said, surprised.

"Maybe it's just different now I'm looking back at it, but even then I was a bit of a mess. And I doubt I would've been the same after that happened if it wasn't for you, William, no matter what you think."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"If you say so," He shrugged, the Mind Mage shaking his head.

"And here we are," Matthew announced, gesturing to a large two-storey building at the end of the road. Unlike the others on the street, it was practically covered in windows, its upper floor looking more like a greenhouse than anything else. Looking into it, Amy could see many cages inside, with many plants and strange play-houses dotted around. There were even a couple birds she could spot flying around already, or perching on branches on the play-houses.

"It looks good," Amy commented, squinting so she could see into the ground floor. "Especially the upstairs."

"You can see it that well?" William asked, his brow creased. "Oh, never mind. I forgot you were a Mage."

"Am I that easy to forget about?" Amy teased.

"Not that, but you act pretty... normal for a Mage. You don't flex your magic that much. At least compared to this guy," Matthew said, nudging William with his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" He protested, falling on deaf ears.

"I'm used to keeping a pretty low profile with my magic. Came with the job I had," Amy said.

"Sounds like a story," Matthew leaned in. "What was it then? Were you a spy or something?"

"Can't say sadly; as William said, it's confidential," Amy smirked back, putting a finger to her lips, as William gave her an exasperated look.

"Let's just get to the shop," William shook his head, walking on ahead.

Following behind and entering through the front door, Amy found the inside of the shop just as wild as the top floor looked like from afar. Plenty of greenery covered the walls of the shops, framing the shelves filled with custom-made pet food, toys and things like it. To Amy, it was a bit odd but she could imagine a pet lover going crazy over it all. Near the back was of course the till, a woman sitting behind it, who had perked up at their entrance. Her traditional Iyrtiran beauty, with soft skin and long black hair, was marred by the scratches and marks on her face and arms, her clothes a pair of overalls too instead of the expected noble dress. Next to her were the stairs up, light beaming down from the upstairs glass walling barely visible from her perspective.

"Janice!" Matthew waved.

"Matty!" Janice shouted happily, getting up from her seat and approaching them. "It's been too long!"

"Ah, I've missed this place," Matthew whispered softly, taking a deep breath in, enjoying the smells. "It's definitely been too long, Jan. How's the shop going?"

"Not too shabby, not too shabby," She said, nodding. "And who do we have here?"

"These two are my friends William and Amy," Matthew introduced, pointing to them accordingly.

"Hi!" William said happily.

"Nice to meet you," Amy greeted, extending a hand.

"Always nice to meet new people, and hopefully customers," Janice winked, shaking the offered hand vigorously. "What brings you to little Janice's shop then?"

"I think it'd be better for her to explain the situation rather than me," Matthew said.

"Yes, sorry," Amy frowned a little, bringing out the box from under her arm carefully, achy after carrying it for so long. Lifting off the blanket, she revealed the birds to the pet shop owner, much to her amazement. It was in an instant that the shop owner practically leaped towards it, looming over the intimidated chicks menacingly.

"Are these... hawks?" Janice asked tentatively, her eyes wide and examining them.

"Y-yes," Amy muttered, a bit off-guard. "I kind of... adopted them after their parents died. I'm doing what I can to take care of them but I'm definitely not the woman for the job."

"I see..." She trailed off, leaving Amy exchanging glances with the other two there, Matthew only giving a wry smile in response. "I'm guessing you are here to sell them?"

"Sell?" Amy said, blinking rapidly. "No, I don't expect money, rather I'd be paying you- I assume anyway."

"Hmmm..." She pondered, leaning back and giving the scared chicks their much needed respite. Whispering to herself under her breath, she said, "They are predators, so I'll have to take special care of them... ...weeks old at least... ...maybe..."

"Miss Janice?"

"Ah yes, sorry about that," She reeled back slightly, jolting. "They're wild birds so to the wild they'll return- eventually at least. I think I'd be looking after them for a month, just to be sure, if you do hand them to me at least. And for payment, since you're offering, I'd say... how does a quarter-shilling sound?"

"Only that much?" Amy exclaimed, glancing at the spectator's and seeing them similarly surprised.

"You sure, Janice? I don't mean to drag more out of you Amy, but that doesn't seem much," Matthew frowned.

"I tried to care for similar birds before so I do have a sectioned off area of the aviary for them so that mainly takes care of the food and care costs, rather than anything too intensive," She explained, looking back at the chicks once more. "It'll be a nice challenge too, so I'd welcome them in."

"I think I've brought enough money," Amy said out loud as she struggled to bring out her wallet with one hand.

"Let me take that from you then," Janice helped, carefully grabbing and placing the nest-box on an empty part of the store shelves. Though, surprisingly, Amy felt a pang of sadness at seeing them go so easily. They're not gone just yet, Amy, and I imagine Janice would allow me to visit them sometimes. Just think of what's best for them, not you.

"Thanks," Amy said, though it came out a bit colder than she'd have liked. Counting out three denominations of coins - one half-piece worth sixty chips, a ten-piece and two-piece coin - she put them on top of the shelf, nodding to it, "That should be it but you can check if you want."

"No need," Janice grinned, her smile almost covering her entire face, "Well pleasure doing business with you Miss Amy, but would you like to tour the shop? I can show you up top too and where they'd likely be put. Though there is a customer up there right now, but they shouldn't disturb us that much."

"Sure, that'd be wonderful."

* * *

Amy found herself sitting on a small bench in the middle of the glass aviary, birds of all colour and breed perched or flying around her. It was a haven, plants and greenery everywhere, as if she had wandered into the middle of a strange jungle in the wilderness, although one with artificial 'trees' that they could play on. Other than Janice and the other customer, who was sitting on a nearby bench also taking it all in, Amy was all on her own, the other two heading off shortly after they'd been shown where the hawks would be housed. It's nice but... I can't shake the feeling that it's all wrong. Janice seems alright and everything else is just wonderful and still... I've really grown to love those little gremlins, haven't I?

Looking back behind her, Amy saw the shopkeeper herself still occupied with the hawks, slowly coaxing them out of their box with treats and comfort. That's one less thing I have to do thankfully, cleaning the box, she laughed, turning back to the birds.

"I don't think I've seen you around here, have I?" Someone asked to her side in a heavy city accent, the customer as Amy realised, turning to face her. The customer herself was on the shorter side, with shoulder-length brown hair, and large blue eyes that seemed to bore straight into her, though her clothes were hidden from Amy's angle by a long black cloak.

"Yes, it's my first time."

"Well, I can't have helped but overhear some of the things you talked about and, I'll just say, Janice is a kind soul," The fellow customer said, giving a lopsided smile. "She'd rather kill herself than hurt a bird, not even a chick."

"Was it that obvious I was worried about it?" Amy blushed, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

"I wouldn't say that, but you were fidgeting an awful lot, that's all," She said, her grin growing. "The name's Beatrice; yours?"

"Amy," She introduced herself, shifting closer to her.

"Janice is always open to visitors too, Amy, and she'd for sure let you see the little ones if you asked."

"That's... good to hear," Amy murmured, still red.

"How'd you even come across those anyways? No offence but you don't strike me as the type to venture into the woods for something like that," Beatrice asked, her perpetual smile turning curious.

"Hah," Amy laughed, her tensed shoulders relaxing a little. "Long story that."