Back at the Inn, I was in the middle of thawing a bouncy ball with my eyes closed, and trying to sense and catch it. So far, I was doing pretty poorly all things considered, and it was annoying to have to get it and get it each time it rolled under the bed, and bounced too far from me. I sighed and placed it down. I had done enough training for today. It was probably best to get some sleep as I had some training with Lex tomorrow.
I got up and was about to head to sleep when there was a tap at the window. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but then another three came in rapid succession. Was someone throwing stones? The image of those old movies came to mind, and I wondered if it was one of the group.
I couldn't have been more wrong. What greeted me when I opened the window was not a person, but a bird. The same bird I'd fed fruit to. Before I could do anything it jumped inside. "Did you follow me?"
I turned as it jumped onto the bed, and began to chirp loudly. It jumped up and down. I wasn't sure what to do. First I checked what I was feeling. No, I wasn't angry, or even annoyed, just surprised. Birds in my words weren't that clever, save for corvids who were extremely smart, but this thing didn't look anything like a crow or a raven.
"This isn't earth," I muttered to myself. "You don't know what it is."
Did it want more fruit? I could understand that, but following me? There were fruit trees in the forest and plenty of berry bushes that you could eat from. Lex had told me that as had my foraging skill oddly enough combined with my sense. Some berries were good, but when I'd tired to pick up a yellow berry, I'd felt a feeling of unease.
"Fruit?" I asked and was about to smack myself when it jumped. I raised an eyebrow. "You understand me? One jump for yes, two for no. Understand|?"
One jump.
"Is that a yes?"
One jump.
"You came for food?"
One jump.
I walked over and took a seat next to it. It jumped up on my lap and preened when I began to stroke its fluffiness. It really did look like a ball of fluff with wings, although when I offered and hand and it jumped on, It felt like it weight nothing. Literally like I was holding a balloon. "You're odd but quite cute."
One jump. I laughed. "Here, wait, and I'll get you some fruit from downstairs."
I stood, but it followed, flapping its way to my shoulder. I shrugged since it wasn't like it was doing anything bad, although it would certainly look odd. There were tamers and skills that had to do with summoning, pets, and such, but this town wasn't a varied place.
My assumption was correct, and I received a number of looks, though they quickly glanced away when I stared back. After helping Stol I'd received quite the reputation around here, and the shady figure kept well away. Honestly, my walk probably had something to do without. I hadn't noticed, but I did walk with a straight back and a more confident stride.
"Hey Stoll, you mind if I get some fruit?"
He stared at the bird. "For you or your friend? Pet?"
"Friend," I said, which seemed to please the bird who let out a chirp and spread its wings. I'd had a cat, and honestly, I never used the word pet. She'd been family and thought many who used it only did so because it was common, others did because it was just the pet, and didn't matter as much as the rest of the family.
"I'll have it sent up," he said. I went to pay him, but he waved a hand. "Don't even think about it, kid."
The bird jumped up and down in happiness, and as we waited in my room, I wondered if it had a name. "Do you have a name?"
Two jumps.
"Would you… like one?"
It hesitated before jumping once. It let out a chirp that sounded excited, and I wondered what name to give it. "Are you a girl or boy? One for boy, two for girl."
One jump.
As I thought, an old memory came to mind of a video. It had been a meme video about a crow. I smiled as I remembered it. "Then how about Ron, short for Ronald?"
Ron jumped once, then flapped its way onto my shoulder. It was then that I realized Ron probably wasn't going to be going anywhere, but I didn't mind that. He could understand me, and that meant he had to be special. There was no way he'd learned the language so it had to be some sort of innate ability. "Ron are you magically?"
Two jumps followed by one.
"No, and yes."
It jumped down and pointed a wing at my hand. "What?" I moved it down, and it pecked at my pinkie.
"Only a little?"
One jump.
"You are smart," I said just as the door opened and Susa walked in. She paused as she saw the bird, and titled her head. "So you do have a pet?"
"Friend," I said. "His name is Ron."
"Well, Ron, I'm Susa." She had a tray full of fruit. She smiled and set it down in front of me. Ron dropped down and began to dig in. "Hold on, Ron, say thank you first." The bird turned and chirped happily at Susa who giggled. As she left, she gave me a wink, and I tried not to blush, but at her look, I nodded. Susa was a lovely woman, and I wasn't going to turn her down if she wanted to have some fun."
I picked up a slice of what looked like a purple-orange and dug in beside my new friend, Ron.