As I was about to leave that evening, in a sense a farewell, for I would not be living in France permanently, I met a very colorful trio. Two of them were familiar to me — Rudolf and Alexandra Schrödinger, the stranger turned out to be Rudolf's fiancée. She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't a beauty either; she had the usual German face and stature, Camilla Wolf — that's how she was introduced.
The only thing unusual and attractive about her was a very lively expression, a wry smile and sparkling gray-blue eyes, and a great sense of humor. I didn't want to stay too long, even though the Schrödingers turned out to be funny and interesting people, so I tried not to get too carried away, so as not to get caught up in a long conversation.
— I would like to point out that your performance, Mr. Hoshino, will not be forgotten for a long time. — Alexandra said with an impenetrable expression.
— Well, yes, to take the hands of the major — it is "loud". — I couldn't help but agree, although I think my decision can be interpreted in many different ways.
— What's that got to do with it, — the girl seemed to wave her hand irritably. — That chicken hasn't interested anyone for a long time! I was talking about your clothes. Even from memory, I can't recall a time when you came to a local reception in something so unusual, so national. It won't be forgotten for a long time.
— Do you think so, Mademoiselle? — I ask skeptically.
— Of course. — The brother and sister nod in the affirmative, and the man's fiancée gives me a mysterious gleam in her eye. — The locals are used to the fact that even the guests try to choose an outfit according to the "standard", not to mention the French themselves. ....
— Hmmm... well, I guess that's not a bad thing.... — And then I remember that once, in the mood, I prepared a gift for Alexandra. There were no elaborate plans, just an idea that came to me during a break. I remember in which ring I have the gift and activate the order, and in a moment, together with a light blue smoke, a big snow-white cockatoo appears on my hand, but with a poison-green crest and ultramarine eyes with a silver, slightly glowing pupil. — Here. — is proudly displaying a beautiful, large bird. — I've named him "Schizo-eye" and I think you can see why.
After visiting the Schrödingers and listening to Alexandra, I pondered the method of realizing her joke. My reflections led me, strangely enough, to an obsession, i.e. I planted a weak spirit in a bird, merged a living being with a spiritual one, and finally got THIS.
The peculiarity of the schizoglaz is that its eyes swivel wildly, rolling and twitching at the most unexpected moments and in the most unexpected directions. All this together with the "drug addict" crest and the "psychotic" eyes looks very strange. However, the bird turned out to be...
— Shizaglaz is characterized by intelligence, characterized by cleverness. — After rolling his eyes, the bird gave it away.
Yes, it speaks the same language as its audience, unless the master forbids it. A very clever creature, but very illiterate.
— How charming! — Alexandra exhaled, keeping her eyes on Schizoglaz, her brother was also very interested.
— Schizoglaz is my creation, he is completely obedient to his master. And I want to give him to you, Alexandra. — I held out my hand to the girl, and the parrot looked at her with interest, turning its head.
— Are you sure?
— I'm sure. — I nodded affirmatively. — All you have to do is smear a drop of blood on the ring on the bird's paw to make it yours....
After my words, all three of them somehow gathered, and Rudolph pulled out his wand and began to weave some kind of spell. I didn't interfere. Trust but verify.
— This ring belongs to the bird. — The boy spoke. — From what I understand, it's some kind of control limiter...
— Correct. You don't drink the bird's blood and perform an hour-long ritual to bind it, do you? It's a lot easier that way. — I shrug. — Besides, I don't know how long he's going to live. Maybe Alexandra will pass it on to her grandchildren, and they will need her permission and the blood on the ring.
The girl did not hesitate and tied Schizoglaz to her, who moved from my hand to his new mistress.
— What a strange specimen.... coo-coo-coo-coo-coo... — and tried to lick himself.
Alexandra smiled broadly, as did everyone else. What can I say for myself? I wanted to make a joke, so I had the bird memorize a few dozen phrases and exclamations of various characters. Schizoglaz is also able to act out little scenes that I managed to memorize, such as "My dear...", "I need more gold", "I can't stand it when others are working, I'm going to lie down...", "A thousand devils!!!" and many others. In short, this bird will surprise the family of jokers more than once and not twice, and it will not let you forget the one who gave it to you.
***
— Good morning, Kiriko.
— Hello, Master. — Orange eyes sparkled in the dark room.
From a large cocoon like a translucent egg with many tubes, thick, viscous fluid and clumps of organic matter, a graceful, flexible figure cautiously emerged. Green skin, pointed ears, thin eyebrows on a doll-like face, black, dangerously shiny claws on its hands and feet.
The unusual creature that had chosen to be a girl looked at its creator with adoration. As a chest-high boy, she resembled a teenage girl. It was hard to stand, she swayed slightly on her thin legs, organic juices from the cocoon still dripping down her bare skin, but the girl didn't care.
All her attention was on the tall mage with the warm aura. Sora took a step towards what was supposed to be a doll, but had become something completely different, new to this world. He threw a large towel over Kiriko and hugged her lovingly, smiling as he realized that she was alive and that her spirit had been reborn into a full soul.
— Come, you need to be washed. — The smile never left the boy's face.
— Yes, Master! — The unusual girl replied in a ringing voice and smiled, revealing her thin animal fangs and sharp teeth.
As the boy helped the girl and explained what she didn't know from the spirit's memory, he pondered. Who or what was to blame for what had happened? What were the chances that Kiriko's siblings would be born if he repeated everything exactly? There was only one way to get an answer...