Reatti was up on a small box, trying to grab something from the top of a shelf. Whatever she was grabbing at, was making clanking noises similar to what glass bottles do.

“You’re a cat too?” Fly asked Reatti. She was standing next to the box Reatti was standing upon, and looking up at her with her wide eyes.

“I’m a meerkat…” Reatti said as she finally found whatever she had been looking for.

“So a cat!” Fly argued as Reatti turned and sighed. She hopped off the box, and Fly stepped up closer to her to stare at the thing in her hands.

I drew closer too, since it was something I’d never seen before.

She held a glass orb in both hands, and it was full of stuff. Some kind of liquid maybe… it had something within it, swirling and…

“What’s that?” Fly asked in wonder, completely forgetting about trying to figure out if Reatti was a cat or not.

“A snow globe! Watch!” Reatti sounded happy as she then violently shook the orb. I worried for it, since I knew she was rather strong. Surely it wouldn’t break…?

After a few moments of shaking it, Reatti stopped and then held it out to Fly. She drew closer, but didn’t reach out to grab it. Instead she just stared into it with eyes of wonder.

“It’s snowing inside,” she whispered.

It was. How did it do that? “Wouldn’t the snow melt in the water?” I asked Reatti.

“Oh… Uh… I don’t know if it’s actual snow, Renn…” Reatti smirked at me as she spoke.

Not snow. Something else, but it looked like snow…

Within the orb, was what looked to be a small castle. It was a gray color, and was surrounded by trees and mountains.

“Are there people inside?” Fly asked.

“I hope not!” Reatti laughed.

Although Reatti laughed at her own joke, Fly instead furrowed her brow and began to worry.

“It’s a toy, I think, Fly,” I said gently.

“Mhm…” Fly nodded, but didn’t seem too convinced.

I couldn’t blame her, honestly. It was so detailed… and thanks to the way the little white flakes swirled it looked…

“Don’t drop it,” Reatti offered it to Fly, and I changed my focus of attention from the wondrous orb to the girl who now held it.

Fly clutched it as if it was a treasure, and honestly it probably was. Why had it been hidden away in this bleak storage room? And why in a box that no one remembered or recognized?

It should be on a shelf, displayed for all to see.

“It’s pretty…” Fly whispered as she stared into it.

I found myself smiling at the young girl, who was transfixed as she watched the white flakes swirl inside the orb. They were starting to settle, which somehow made it more real looking.

“Who made it?” I asked Reatti with a small whisper. I wasn’t worried over Fly hearing me, but I didn’t want to outright disturb her fascination with the thing.

“No idea. Probably something Vim made, or brought,” Reatti said with a shrug.

Frowning at Reatti, I wondered why everyone seemed to answer my questions in such a way. Why was it always Vim?

Was it just because he traveled so much? Or was so old?

It was starting to become a little obvious he knew far more than he told anyone.

“If you think that’s neat, wait till you see this. It makes noises and…” Reatti turned to grab something else, but Fly’s eyes shot upward.

“Um!” She stepped forward, quickly, and the small storage room got a little cramped as her feathers puffed up a little.

“Hm?” I smiled gently at the young girl who was now very obviously worried. She had just been so happy… what had happened?

“What… what time is it?” Fly asked, glancing around. Likely for a window.

“Ah… well…” I realized it hadn’t worked.

Glancing at Reatti, she smiled and sighed. “Well… It’s probably an hour or so from sunrise, Fly, I’d think,” Reatti answered truthfully.

Fly’s eyes went wide in shock, and then she hurriedly looked down at the orb in her hands. The snow within the orb had settled.

“Then… I need to leave…” Fly said sadly.

I coughed lightly and reached a hand out as to get Fly’s attention. She looked away from the orb, to me. “You could stay the day here, Fly. If you’d like,” I said.

Fly quickly shook her head. “I can’t! They’ll…” She quickly stopped talking, as she realized she was about to reveal something she shouldn’t. With a small flinch she stepped forward, to hand Reatti back the orb of fake snow.

Reatti took it gently, and with a sad smile nodded to Fly. “Alright. Renn will escort you back to the roof then,” Reatti said.

I nodded as Fly looked at me, and her sad expression softened a little.

She was sad she had to leave, but happy we understood. Happy we’d let her.

Offering my hand, I waited for her to take it… but she stopped as she looked down at herself.

“Uh… I’ll need my clothes back,” she said.

“Hm?”

“If I wear these… they’ll notice…” she whispered.

Ah.

Yes. We had a few hours ago given her new clothes. Ones made intentionally for her.

Made by Magdalena surprisingly. She had done a very good job too. The pants Fly wore had dozens of little buttons that allowed her to put them on without having to stick her large talon feet through them.

“Well… let’s go get them then,” I offered her.

Fly nodded, and finally took my outstretched hand.

“Goodnight Fly. See you tomorrow,” Reatti said, staying in the storage room. I knew she didn’t need to stay behind, but was doing so on purpose.

“Ah… goodnight Reatti. Thank you for showing me that little world,” Fly said.

Reatti smiled and nodded as we left the room.

“It was pretty, wasn’t it?” I agreed with her.

“It was,” she nodded in agreement.

With her hand in my own, I guided her back down to the bottom floor. To where I knew I’d find the tables, likely still covered in clothes.

“You sure you don’t want to just wear what you have on? You can still wear the large cloaks, too, you know,” I suggest to her.

She shook her head, which made some of her feathers sound odd thanks to the movement.

“Okay…” I said softly, accepting her determination.

As we walked downstairs, and into the hallway, I wondered where Vim was. Maybe he could convince her to stay.

Entering the room where we had tried on clothes, Fly came to a stop and made an odd noise as her hand tightened around my own.

Vim glanced at us, looking up from the book he was reading.

I smiled at him as Fly glared at him.

“Time to leave, is it?” he asked us.

Fly went still, her feathers bristling a little… and then she calmed down as she nodded to him.

“Hm… Better change quickly. The sun will be up soon,” Vim then said.

Fly startled, and then hurriedly ran off to the group of tables littered with clothes.

Watching her for a moment, I hurried over once I realized she was struggling to get her new clothes off. The buttons were giving her trouble, likely since she wasn’t used to them.

As I helped her undo the buttons on the pants, and get free of them, I glanced over at Vim. He was still in the room, but was now focused on the book again. Just like last time, earlier today, he looked away when she or I were changing.

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Kind of him, but strange all the same. He hadn’t bothered to care before. Maybe it was because it was her, and not me, and we weren’t alone.

“Did… did they wash my clothes?” Fly asked as she stopped right as she was about to pick one of the patchwork shirts she had been wearing.

As I folded up her now discarded clothes, I studied the pile of neatly folded… well…

Honestly her clothes weren’t clothes at all. They were just tanned patches of leather, or rotten cloth, which were haphazardly sewn together.

But it was precisely because of how worn down and dirty they were, that it was easy to tell someone had taken the time to fix them up.

Blue thread was very obviously new. Sewn in many locations, with new patches of cloth and leather… to fill holes and support the spots about to become holes.

“Uhm… I guess someone did…” I said. Honestly I had not known who had done it. Surely not Vim? Although he had left us alone the last few hours, it had only been for a short time. He occasionally checked in, and never went far. It was likely he had been listening to us earlier too, and had headed down here once he realized we’d be coming back.

Fly hesitated as she ran her hand along one of the newly patched shirts. I noticed the way the cloth stuck to her hand and made noises as she touched it. It wasn’t just because her hands were full of calluses, but because of how rough the cloth was.

It wasn’t cloth suited for a shirt. Not even the shirt of someone very poor. It was the cloth used for a rag, or maybe a sack.

“You know how to sew?” Fly asked softly.

“Honestly no. I’m horrible at it… not sure why,” I told her.

“Really?” She looked up at me and smiled in a way that told me she was oddly happy to hear it.

I nodded. “Yea… I try sometimes, but…” I shrugged, since I wasn’t really sure why I was so bad it. I mean… it wasn’t like it was that difficult to sew simple things. Me being bad at sewing something fancy I’d understand, but I wasn’t even able to patch holes as someone had done for her clothes.

“Pulti was the best at it. She made my clothes,” Fly said as she grabbed the shirt off the table, as to get dressed.

As she dressed herself, I felt as if the room became much colder.

It took a lot of focus to keep my eyes from watering as Fly put one layer of clothes onto the other.

There were nearly half a dozen, with two large cloaks that went on top of the shirts.

It let her hide her feathers and features, but it also made her look… a little out of place.

She had just looked like one of us. In a way. Although she hadn’t been wearing one of our uniforms, she had been wearing our colors.

She had looked like a happy little girl.

Now she looked like an outsider again. A homeless bird… without a nest to call home.

With a small huff she reached into one of her large hoods, as to adjust some of her feathers.

“Did you enjoy your visit today, Fly?”

Fly startled, and her heavy cloaks and thick leather shirts fluttered as she spun, and stepped away quickly. She came to a stop, since she backed up into the table, and she glared up at Vim.

His face told me he wasn’t bothered at all by her shock or the fear and hate in her eyes.

For a long moment… there was silence… then she nodded. “I did,” she said.

“Hm…” Vim nodded back.

Smiling at the two, I wondered what to think of their relationship.

She was terrified of him… but knew now, deep down, he wasn’t going to hurt her. She even knew he was… regretful. She knew he was sorry for what happened to her friend.

Yet she couldn’t deny the very obvious and instinctual fear she had towards him.

Glancing at Vim, and his calm smile… I wondered if this was that normal for him. Maybe most of our members were like Fly, in one way or another.

Maybe this was how most of them start.

Scared of him.

“Can I leave now?” Fly asked Vim.

I shifted a little, and wondered why she was asking him for permission, even though she had earlier said she was going to leave so confidently.

Vim’s answer was to hold his hand out.

She stared at it for a moment, and then took it gently. Once they were holding hands, Vim turned as to guide her to the roof. To let her leave.

I followed them out of the room, silently, and wondered why she was able to hold his hand so comfortably.

She feared him. Hated him, to a point.

Yet she held his hand as if he was a dear friend.

As we headed for the stairs, I noticed we were walking a little slowly…

Studying Vim for a moment, I realized it wasn’t him.

It was Fly.

She was walking unhurriedly. As if lost in thought.

Yet she wasn’t… she was staring up at Vim.

“Are you old?” Fly asked him.

“I am,” Vim answered.

“You don’t look very old,” she said as they reached the stairs.

Fly stepped up a step, but Vim remained for a moment. Fly paused a few steps up, noticing thanks to their connected hands that he wasn’t following.

“You’re so young, I’d think most people should look old to you,” Vim said to her.

Fly smiled childishly. “Not really! There’re lots of old people! Like… well…” she seemed to get lost in thought for a moment as she pondered her statement.

“I suppose most of us here do look young. A few don’t look too young, though. Pierre for instance,” Vim stepped up the stairs.

“The mouse? He’s not that old either… I’m talking about the ones with no hair, or their hair and fur are all white,” Fly said as they headed upstairs.

I frowned. No one here was like that.

“Ah… yes. Some do get like that, I suppose,” Vim said.

“So then you’re not that old yet,” Fly said.

“Hm… Honestly I should be…”

“Are you old too, Renn?” Fly asked me.

I startled a little at the sudden inclusion into their conversation. Usually when Fly and Vim walked and talked, Fly ignored most everything else.

“I’m not as old as Vim, no… but I’m not that young either. I should be over two hundred years old,” I told her.

“Two…” Fly paused and turned, to stare down at me. Fly and Vim were about to round the stairwell, so I wasn’t able to see Vim’s face as Fly studied my own.

I nodded to her. “I’m sure that I’m at least that old… but I’m not entirely sure my actual age. I might even be much older, for all I know,” I said.

“Hm…” Fly frowned, and seemed to want to ask a question… but didn’t.

What was wrong?

“The Society allows those like us to live as long as we do, Fly. Thanks to how we protect each other,” Vim said gently. For some reason since I couldn’t see his face, I found myself hearing a strange… tender tone. One that I’d not usually hear from him.

Fly looked away from me, and then to Vim. Her eyes were very pretty as they became large, as if ensorcelled.

I see. She was shocked to hear how old we were, not because of our looks… but simple truth.

Studying the young bird, who was staring at Vim in awe… I realized she was simply flabbergasted.

She didn’t think those like us could live as long as we did. Because it was too hard. Too dangerous.

Because her master didn’t allow anyone to.

Fly was silent the rest of the way up the stairs, and out onto the roof. I stayed near the door, leaving it open, as I watched her and Vim stand next to each other on the roof… she wouldn’t let go of his hand.

“You never ask me to stay,” Fly whispered.

Vim didn’t glance down at her. He was staring out into the distance, at something only he saw.

“They all do, but you don’t,” she continued.

“They just… want you happy, Fly,” Vim said.

Fly nodded, and I shifted on my heel.

“They actually worry for me. To the point they’ll even try to keep me from realizing how late it is,” Fly said softly.

Ah. So we had been caught.

“A scheme, but one with heart,” Vim said.

Fly nodded again, and I noticed the way her hand tightened on his.

I gulped, and wondered if this was it. Would she ask? Finally? After almost a week?

“Do you not have a heart for me too?” Fly asked him.

Vim finally looked away from the sky, and to the little bird next to him.

I was just barely able to see his face and the expression on it… and although it was fascinating, and lovely… it was her expression I found myself burning into my memories.

“What my heart values, young bird… is for you to be free. I want you to spread your wings, and soar. Fly, fly. Fly anywhere you want, for any reason you desire. My only hope is when your wings grow weary; the place you perch and rest is here. Under the Societies branches,” Vim told her.

The young girl’s eyes began to leak, and then her face scrunched up. She looked down, away from Vim’s kindhearted expression, and her face went red. A deep red.

This was it!

I stepped forward, and felt oddly calm even though I was holding my breath. Even though I was shaking in apprehension!

“I’ll be back!” she then shouted, and with a regretful tug… she pulled her hand free of his and ran off. To the edge of the roof.

Watching her go, I released a pent up breath as I watched her leap off the roof… running away.

“Hm…” Vim nodded, and turned around… to head back into the building.

Groaning, I wiped my eyes and went to follow him.

“One step at a time, Renn,” Vim said.

“Each step is so hard, though.”

“That’s what makes the effort so worth it, Renn. The steps are hard, and the burden heavy, precisely because what we’re trying to get to is so precious,” Vim said.

Closing the door behind Vim, I locked the door and groaned again.

“Why are so good at smooth talking?” I complained.

Vim chuckled as we headed downstairs. “Funny. Most say the opposite.”

“Sure they do,” I mumbled.

Vim nodded. “They do. You just deeply value what I say, Renn… so you…” he stopped talking, and I realized it was my turn to go red in the face.

“Maybe if you didn’t say such embarrassing things she’d have asked the question just now,” I said, trying to deflect what he was implying. Even if it was true, I didn’t want to say it aloud.

“Hm… possibly. It’s hard to choose what to say and when… especially when each word and action is so valuable. One wrong move and we lose her. Yet who is to know if hesitation is what costs us her?” Vim asked.

“Don’t make me worry more than I already am, please,” I begged him as we reached the third floor.

He nodded, and sighed. “She’s smarter than her age,” he said.

“Hm… although childish, she’s inquisitive, yes,” I agreed.

“What’s your plan for tomorrow?” he asked me.

Yes. Today’s plan had failed. We had thought if we distracted her enough until sunrise, she’d just… stay here…

Then stay again. And again. Forever.

A strange method, but one that Reatti and the rest seemed intent on trying. It seemed to have worked for others, before.

There was nothing to say it wouldn’t work down the road. Be it tomorrow, or even many moons from now… but no one wanted to risk waiting that long.

We were worried about her. Since it was obvious she was hiding her visits here to us.

That meant if the others, either those elders she spoke of or her master, noticed and caught her… well…

Then…

“We plan to show her something precious,” I said, as I tried not to think of that poor little girl being eaten.

He frowned at me, and I smiled in return. “Something so precious, she’ll have no choice but to accept.”

It should work… since it had worked for me.