Artam walked steadily to the public bathhouse, paying attention to one in particular.
He was kinda thrilled at the prospect of having an ability. Suddenly, he remembered how the prince bled on his sword and caused it to ignite.
The very idea of being able to do something similar sent his mind into a spiral of imagination.
"Calm down you fool." He told himself, He needed to understand what was happening to him, or what had happened to give him these abilities.
There was also a nagging feeling that the dreams were just his imagination. But he couldn't just dismiss them.
"There's also the crow," Artam muttered.
He remembered the crow dreams, and he was positive they weren't dreams. He might have possessed Vyde.
Suddenly he shivered at the thought. Wasn't he wearing the crow's skin?
"If anyone finds out, I'll be killed for practicing black magic."
He looked around; somehow, everyone seemed more dangerous. He couldn't share this with anyone.
No, he possibly couldn't; it was already one thing they called him an omen because of his gray eyes.
But if he could skinwalk? That'll send them frenzied after him.
He reached the bathhouse and it wasn't long before he was soaked inside the bath, scrubbing his body clean.
He quickly bathed and dried his body, before putting on his second chiton, then he left the bathhouse quickly.
He returned to his room after washing his soiled chiton, Vyde was still nestled in his nest.
Artam hung the chiton by the window and glanced at the bird. As if sensing him, its eyelids fluttered open revealing its black beady eyes.
"I wonder what else I could do," Artam said.
Then he called for the bird and it came flying and landed on his shoulder.
He brought out a handful of corn from his pocket. And raised it to feed the crow perched on his shoulder.
Vyde was strange, bigger than most crows, yet still younger. Its feathers were a shade blacker than midnight, and its eyes had a quiet intelligence.
He searched for something, anything unnatural between them.
He sensed it and reached out for him. He could feel Vyde and his mocking energy.
His inquisitiveness, and his warped personality.
And there, on the verge of his consciousness, something new. A completely new sense.
Artam concentrated on it, and suddenly a whole other world opened to him. It was hard to describe with words, just like one would have trouble explaining the concept of sight to a blind person.
There was a plethora of shapes, like vestiges cast by living creatures. He saw his vestige and that of others in the castle.
He received an understanding of both the shape of his vestige and those of the others in the surrounding space, guided by the different degrees of pressure they exerted on his mind and each other.
That understanding came naturally and instantaneously, like an instinct.
"What is this?" Artam couldn't believe it.
Then there a familiar vestige, small, dark, sinisterly, but familiar.
He reached out and fell into the vestige.
Then he felt like he was slipping into his favorite sandals.
Suddenly, his vision was different; he could see more clearly. The colors were stark, and he could see the whole room. Even behind him.
He was perched on the boy's shoulders. Eating corn.
"Wait" Artam cawed, "That's me."
His eyes were rolled back, revealing the white under, and his mouth was opened.
"I'm wearing Vyde's skin." Artam had deduced.
It felt strange, a bit weird, unnatural, and wrong.
But it also felt right, comfortable. Like a pair of sandals that matched.
Like Vyde was a part of him, like a shadow cast by an object.
He stopped eating the corn; he could feel Vyde's annoyance and protest.
But he pushed him to the corner of his mind… or Vyde's mind.
He rustled his wings. They were big and black. Bigger than they had been yesterday.
"He's still growing?" Artam thought.
Suddenly something moved in his periphery. A gecko, Artam thought with hungry zeal.
He took off and jumped off Artam's shoulders. But instead of flying, he crashed horribly into the ground.
Ack! The pain sent Artam back into his real body. He staggered back, clutching his head.
Vyde cawed in annoyance and flew around Artam. Pecking him and pulling his hair.
"Ow! I'm sorry alright?" Artam pleaded with the damn bird.
A few more pecking it stopped.
"Finally." Artam breathed in relief.
Then he realized what he had done, he could willingly wear Vyde's skin. He had felt the crow resisting, but It was possible.
He'd also feel other vestiges from different people. Somehow, he felt… or he knew he couldn't wear their skins.. not yet, at least.
Speechless and with his mouth agape, Artam couldn't help but wonder what else he could do.
What if he could morph his face into someone?
"Uh… morph?" No reaction.
He didn't feel anything, and it didn't help there was no way to see his reflection.
Artam sighed. 'I'm doing this wrong.'
He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Sensing for something else, something different from the vestige world.
Then he found another; there were others, too.
But they were incomplete, save for one.
Artam grasped the feeling of it, he could sense Vyde just like he sensed his limbs.
Artam opened his eyes and looked at the crow perched on the window. Then, with a thought, he willed it to raise his wings.
The crow raised both wings. He willed it to sit, stand, turn around, fly. It flew with a wobbly gait.
Then he willed it to fly in a circle, then a line. And finally, to land on his shoulder.
"Ha! How about that?" Vyde pouted, then reluctantly cawed.
Artam felt a strange connection like a thread tying him to the crow.
It wasn't just about control; it was more like he didn't have to think—just feel.
The bird responded as if it were an extension of his own will, its fluttering movements in sync with his own subtle urges
There was a certain level of instinctual seed of understanding buried deep inside his subconscious.
This ability was something innate.
Artam just had to sense the subconscious ability and learn how to put it into practice.
Once again, he concentrated on sensing his mind, then commanded the crow to perform a series of simple motions. With each of them, he was growing more and more familiar with the feeling of wearing a skin. Pretty soon, it was as natural to him as breathing and walking.
Vyde felt like a part of his body.
I wonder if I can possess him while still in control of my body.
He reached out again, and Vyde connected. Then something strange happened.
He felt a very weird split happening in his mind. It was like his perception had separated into two distinct sources.
One was his body, the other — his crow. With a bit of trying, he managed to focus on the second source. Instantly, his vision blurred.
"Whoa!" Artam blurted, surprised. "Whoa!" the crow heard from another end of his senses.
Artam gasped. In his mind, there now existed two pictures. One was of the crow perched on his shoulder and the second was being perched on the shoulder of a boy in a small room.
"This is pretty cool," Artam muttered.
Then there was the sudden ringing of the morning bell. Prayers would soon begin.
"Oh shit!" Artam cursed, and dismissed the connection to Vyde.
He felt a slight headache splitting his head. But he tried not to dwell on it.
A few minutes later, he had changed into a clean chiton, the fabric smooth against his skin.
With hurried steps, he made his way to the Temple.