The days progressed with a series of exploring the various types of magic and an increasingly annoying mystery of what the chamber was built for. Aiden and Bram endlessly set up tests, recorded the results, and discussed them over dinner. The ancient chamber, the focus of their study, refused to divulge even one of its secrets. The one interesting item they found was that dust did not enter the main chamber. Moats of dust could be seen in the air, floating down the stairs. But there was a wall that repelled the particles along the edge of the last step. It was as if the open wall was solid; it did not repel the particles or let them pass. Although dust and dirt on Aiden and Bram seemed to move without resistance past the invisible barrier.

Bram obsessed for an entire day, trying to detect what the barrier was. He cast spell after spell and blew chalk dust into the air at the barrier from both sides. From the stairs, the chalk dust acted like it was being blown against a solid wall. From the chamber side, the chalk dust puffed into the stairs without pause or reaction until some of it curled back in eddies of air only to meet the firm resistance preventing it from flowing back into the chamber.

Aiden had to hide his face as Bram groused over the strange discovery. Instead of laughing at his mentor's frustration he busied himself with taking care of the camp, cooking, and tending to the stolid red bird. Aiden made it a point to sit near the cage, but not too close as he ate or worked on preparing one of the magical testing devices. He also told Bram to act normal and generally ignore the bird. Birds needed time to become familiar with human activities and presence.

At dawn each day, Aiden would rise early, the crisp forest air filling his lungs as he prepared breakfast over the fire. The bird, still a captive within the magically reinforced cage, remained a constant enigma. It watched them with intelligent eyes, its red plumage a stark contrast against the muted greens and browns of the forest. Aiden cleaned its water bowl and gave it fresh food each day, moving carefully around it so as not to startle it or make it feel threatened.

After breakfast, they'd descend into the chamber, carrying the various magical detectors and tools Aiden had had meticulously prepared the evening before under Bram's watchful eye and gentle guidance. Aiden's understanding of magic deepened with each passing day, his confidence growing as he learned to manipulate the different types of energy and understand some of their interactions. The spells he learned were only the most basic manipulations needed to activate a small amount to perform the tests. And Bram made sure he successfully performed each test before they'd move on to the next test.

The fourth day since capturing the red bird started with Aiden still trying to get gravitational magic to work. Aiden sighed in frustration, beads of sweat dotting his forehead from the last failed effort to levitate a small pebble.

"You're pushing. Tensing constricts the mind and slows the flow of magic."

Aiden held the stone Bram wanted him to lighten. The stone trembled in his hand, and Aiden felt excited as it grew lighter. The magical device they used to measure gravitational distortions flickered and hummed, indicating that Aiden had managed to use gravitational magic.

"Excellent," Bram praised, making notes in his logbook. "You relaxed and held the control."

"I barely felt it."

"Gravitational magic is subtle compared to the other types. Some believe that is because we are constantly being affected by gravity."

A soft peeping scoff made Aiden and Bram turn to look at the bird. It sat in the cage, slightly fluffed up and back to them.

"You don't agree?" Bram asked the bird's back.

Without moving, a mocking rumbling-trill came from the bird.

"Well, our friend doesn't agree with those learned scholars," Bram laughed. "To be honest, neither do I. You need to practice this more before we try testing for it."

A mocking twerp agreed with Bram.

Aiden felt his cheeks burning slightly. "I don't see you doing anything useful." He mumbled to the bird.

The bird closed its eyes and appeared to dismiss them entirely. It didn't move or make any further noises.

Aiden glared at the bird for a minute before Bram tapped his arm lightly, and he turned back to practicing making the rock lighter.

He was sure the bird would eventually come around. For now, it remained a puzzle, its behavior unpredictable. It generally pretended to be asleep and kept its back to them. It refused to eat anything while they were present. But each day, when they emerged from the chamber, the food and most of the water were gone.

Late in the afternoon, after they'd finished running their tests in the chamber, Aiden went foraging around the area while Bram reviewed his notes and decided which devices they'd need for the next day. He moved through the forest with ease, his senses attuned to the subtle signs of edible plants and fruits. After a while, he stumbled upon a grove of mango trees, their branches heavy with red and purple fruit. Grinning with delight, he climbed up and carefully plucked the ripe mangoes, filling his bag with enough for the next few days.

Returning to camp with his bounty, Aiden's excitement was palpable. "Bram, look what I found!" he called, holding up a particularly large mango.

Bram looked up, his eyes widening at the sight. "Mangoes? I didn't know they'd be ripe yet. Haven't had one of those since last year!"

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They quickly set about slicing the fruit, the sweet, sticky juice running down their hands. Bram took a bite and closed his eyes, making an exaggerated moan of pleasure. "Oh, this is heavenly," he declared, smacking his lips loudly.

Aiden laughed, thoroughly enjoying the sight of Bram reveling in the simple pleasure. "Glad you like it. Plenty more will ripen over the coming days."

Popping a slice into his mouth he licked the juices from his fingers and closed his eyes to concentrate on the delicious sweet flavor and the warm juices coating his throat. He let his own "mmm" of pleasure join Bram's.

An annoyed, loud chirp came from the cage.

Aiden opened his eyes and looked over. The bird was not sitting with its back to them. It stood tall, and its eyes met Aiden's. "I think our feathered friend wants in on the action." Aiden said.

Bram stood and came over. He made a "um hmm" noise around a wedge of mango he'd slipt into his mouth.

The bird ignored Bram and kept its eyes locked on Aiden. When Aiden didn't react, the bird glanced down at his hands then back up to his eyes and made the same demanding chirp.

"Seems like it's a fan of mangoes, too," Bram commented, watching the bird's reaction with interest.

Aiden felt his cheeks stretching in a wide smile. At last, he'd found something the bird clearly wanted. With a tasty snack it liked, he had the key he needed to train. He approached the cage cautiously, holding out a small piece of mango. The bird eyed it warily before snatching it from his fingers, its eyes gleaming with satisfaction as it devoured the fruit.

"You'd think we hadn't been feeding it," Bram said, watching the bird tear into the fruit as he, too, took another slice of mango.

The bird hopped around and bit into the fruit so fast its movements were almost a blur. The small wedge Aiden had given it in less than a few seconds was completely gone.

Sitting on the ground in front of the cage, Aiden and Bram continued to enjoy the fruit while also giving the bird wedges of mango.

"How can it eat so much?" Aiden asked after feeding another wedge of mango to the small bird. Not even the skin of the fruit was left in the cage.

The bird finished its current wedge and then hopped over to hang near Aiden on the cage's wall and made another demanding chirp.

Bram slid a large wedge into the cage, and the bird speared it, dragged it into the middle of the cage, and began consuming it.

"I have no idea. It shouldn't be able to. That is almost four full mangoes, which has to be at least three times its body weight."

Aiden continued feeding the bird pieces of mango, "Well, at least we found something to get it to begin interacting with us."

Aiden decided to save the last few mangoes for breakfast. He and Bram had eaten two mangoes each, and the bird had downed four.

Aiden stood and put the remaining mangoes into the food storage sack. The bird made a series of chirps, each louder and more demanding. Aiden looked at it and shook his head. "Sorry, I don't want you getting sick."

The bird stood taller and leaned back, looking at Aiden with its beak slightly open. Then it shook its head and made a warbling series of notes that sounded like chuckling. Then it turned around, fluffed up, and squatted down in the position it had held since the start of the week.

Aiden felt like he'd just been dismissed and looked at Bram, who shrugged.

"Is it me or does it seem imperious?" Bram asked.

"Imperious? I'd call it full of itself."

The bird made a rude sound, making Aiden and Bram laugh as they turned to their evening work.

Aiden had felt the bird watching their every move throughout the week. After the mango-eating fun, it now sat in the same position, pretending to be asleep. Before he'd been unsure if it was asleep or awake. But, he felt like knew it well enough now to tell. He was sure it was pretending to be asleep. It was smart, and he wanted it to get more active. That'd be a good step towards taming it.

He reasoned that if it was smart, all he needed to do was prove it was wasting its time. It might be stubborn, but given its abilities, Aiden was sure getting it to behave more normally was needed to move forward. He turned away, bending down, pretending to be doing something to the general magic detector he held. A prickle in his neck made him sure the bird's eyes were on him. He leaned lower, feigning interest in the device, moving to block the bird's view with his body but letting him see the cage in his peripheral vision.

Bram was setting up a particularly delicate apparatus.

Aiden waited until the bird was leaning forward, tilting its head, trying to get a better view. With a smirk, Aiden spun around, catching the bird before it could right itself.

"Gotcha!" Aiden exclaimed, pointing a finger at the bird.

Bram nearly dropped the instrument he was working on looking up.

The bird glared at Aiden for a second, then averted its gaze. It turned around, but instead of pretending to be asleep like it normally did, it started preening with exaggerated disinterest.

Bram looked up from his work, eyebrows raised. "What are you doing?"

"Just proving that it isn't as clever as it thinks it is," Aiden said with a chuckle.

Bram shook his head, laughing softly. "Well, it's certainly got personality."

A short time later, with a chirp that sounded more like a harumph, the bird gave up on its statue act and started moving around the cage a bit.

Aiden looked up, watching it for a bit, a smile never leaving his face. It didn't eat or drink. Instead, it moved around the cage methodically, poking at the edges, tapping the ward pins, and generally watching anything Aiden and Bram were doing. Whenever Aiden looked up and met eyes with it, it would fluff its feathers and make a series of indignant chirps.

Aiden tried feeding it other pieces of fruit. It ate them all almost as fast as it ate the mangoes.

The bird's attempts at being aloof while also dancing for fruits or methodically inspecting the cage were a source of amusement and fascination.

The next two days followed the pattern. Aiden made breakfast and fed freshly gathered fruits to the bird. Then he'd study different types of magical testing with Bram to the occasional chirp from the bird. Both Bram and Aiden had no problem interpreting the bird's noises; it was almost always mocking or laughing at Aiden's efforts. Although there were a couple of times when it was surprised and twice when it had actually been complimentary to Aiden's efforts. They'd spend four or five hours running tests in the chamber, all of which yielded nothing except that the chamber was isolated from all types of magic. The early evenings found them reviewing what they'd tested and chatting about other tests they could perform. Dinner included some singing and storytelling.

The bird did not like Bram or Aiden's singing and would turn its back and fluff up.

Sitting by the fire, Aiden voiced a thought nagging at him. "What if this bird is connected to the ruins somehow? Maybe its magic might reveal something about the chamber."

A feeling of something dangerous prickled Aiden's senses. He glanced up, looking for the source of the feeling. What he found was the bird glaring at him.

Bram considered this. "It's possible. Magic often connects seemingly unrelated things. We could take it down tomorrow and take some measurements to compare to the ones we've already done to it and the chamber."

The bird made one soft, deep note that gave Aiden a chill. It sounded too much like "no" to be anything else.

Bram looked up at the sound and examined the bird's stiff stance. "That's interesting."