“Fucking hell, who the fuck burned down my hut. I’m tired of people fucking around with my shit.”

I peeked around a tree; they were thicker, shorter, and their foliage spread much further than that of ebony trees. Their barks were light brown and their branches looked sturdy enough to build a cozy nest.

I wanted to explore the plains past the forest to search for the gin, but there, a man yelled. He was thin and about the height of a sapling. I couldn’t see with whom he argued, but since he didn’t have a weapon, it probably wasn’t a big deal.

“Hello,” I called out to announce my presence. Hopefully, he’d have some information. I stepped out of the forest and noticed a small translucent humanoid beast opposite the man. The beast had little pigeon wings, four horns atop its head, and slept on top of a yellow cloud. When I entered his line of sight, his eyes shot open, and he flew to me.

“What are you?” he asked, stopping a worm away from my face, eyes inspecting mine. “I’ve never seen a beast with black eyes.”

“Hi, I’m Veero, a Ravn. What about you?” I asked to confirm.

“Oh yes, I’m Gino, a gin.” He turned and pointed at the man. “This human promised to make three wishes, but he keeps pushing it back.”

“I’m not pushing it back!” yelled the man. “I was just depressed that day; I know you just want to screw me over. Leave, there are plenty a people that can be tricked. How about that guy you’re talking to? I’m sure he wants something.”

The gin laughed. “This guy. This guy’s a beast, and I can only eat the desires of animals.”

“See! You are devils, you just said it yourself, you eat desires, that’s only a step away from the soul. Why would I make a deal with a discount demon?”

The gin shook his head. “Look, it’s not always all bad. I might consume some of your happiness, fear, and contempt, but with the wish I grant you, you can create even more happiness, joy, and everything else. It’s mutually beneficial.” The gin approached the man. “Look, I ain’t no dragon or demon. Small fries like us don’t do much harm. You’re still gonna have your soul after this. Like animals, not all beasts are made equal.” He pointed to the ground. “Even amongst animals, there are big differences in size and strength. Fireflies are quick and mobile, but of no threat, however, elves are powerful enough to kill many beasts, no? Look.” He motioned his head at me. “What do you take from humans?”

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“Hearts.”

“See, just…hearts?” The gin’s eyes became pebbles. The man threw up his arms and fell on a tree stump. Gino continued, “You eat hearts? I’m gonna use some of this man’s language, but what the fuck are you? No wonder I’ve never heard of a Ravn, you guys must be hunted the moment you appear. How are you still alive?”

I didn’t know how to react, and so continued spectating the spectacle.

“See, I told you, all of you are a bunch of killers. Get out of my shack. Why are there so many beasts around here? I wanted to live in the woods to get away from all this. People, things, beasts, beings, spirits, gods. All of it.” The man’s eye’s shot open. “How about the village? Yes, they must have a list of wishes as long as your lies.”

I skipped over to the gin. This was probably the only movement I did as a bird and could still pull off as a humanoid. It made me feel comfortable. “What’s his story?” I asked Gino.

“Hey, don’t tell him,” yelled the man with an outstretched arm. The gin sneered, “no one here cares about what you did.”

“No, aren’t these things person–”

Gino turned to face me. “I managed to catch this guy carving up his wife. He says he was under the influence.” Gino came to my ear, “He wasn’t.” He floated back to the man. “He wanted her back, and so we struck a 3-wish deal.” The gin tapped the man’s nose after each word, “But. After. The. First. Wish. Fufilled. He. Says.” The man swinged a fist, it passed through Gino. “He doesn’t want anything anymore.”

“You turned her into a ghoul!”

“I told you, I’m no god. I can’t give life to the dead. Now that you know that, make a more educated wish.”

I walked up to Gino. “Do you need any help? It might be dangerous, humans like him aren’t afraid to murder.”

Gino waved me off, “don’t worry, he can’t do anything to me. My jar is his mother’s urn. He won’t touch me.” The gin turned back to the man. His eyes opened wide. “Oh wait, Veero, yes, your help will be useful.”

“Can I get something in return?”

“Hmm… sure, what you get will depend on how much mana you save for me, but what would you want?”

“Can you give me something to help level up faster?”

Gino tapped his chin and kicked back his legs. “Well, it depends on his wish. I probably can’t give you something that’ll grant you many advantages, but I’ll see what I can do. Oh wait, I can lead you to somewhere with easy experience.”

I raised my head in excitement and crowed. Nothing came out, only a light screech. A few words with these people and I could always get more.

The man stepped back. His face had scrunched up.

“Ok, great.” The gin clapped his hands. “Now, human, make your wish, else I’ll have Veero eat your heart.”

The man, sitting on the tree stump, looked down to the earth. “I wish…” He hid his face in his palms. “I…I wish for a kid. My own kid.”

Gino’s forehead creased. “You did hear what I just said, right?”

The man looked up. “Is that too much to ask? It’s her fault! It’s her fault the child died. It’s her fault. But I would have given her another chance. It’s her fault. Things just got out of hand…”

“Yikes, ain’t that brutal.” Gino buried his face in his yellow cloud. I caught a glimpse of a grin; his eyes curled up. “Let’s go Veero.” The gin looked up. His grin morphed into a smile, a kind smile. The smile of a friend.