Page 15
Story: Beak Performance
“You don’t have to worry about me, Viking. If anything,Ishould walkyouhome.” I gave him a dry smile. Let’s ignore that Veitsreuth is one of the safest cities in Germany.
“You sure about that, Raven?” he returned the smile, inviting me to his side.
Don’t let it show how much you care.
“Dead sure.”
I licked my lips and backed away. The changes were subtle at first. Shadows creeping up the wall behind me like ghostly creatures. A wind tore at my coat, my scarf whipping out behind me as if I stood in a storm Arne wouldn’t be able to feel. Then I grew, morphed into something more, something terrible. My lips formed into a beak, the feathers at my neck ruffling as I spread my wings.
He stood there in the dark street, watching me, mesmerised.
Prey.
Within seconds, I shrank back to my normal, fairly humanoid form, righted my scarf, and gave him a sheepish smile.
“See? Of the two of us, I’m the monster.”
“You are not a monster,” Arne breathed. “You are my Raven.”
His.
“Well, if you insist,” he added in a raspy whisper, and I agreed. The faint buzz of alcohol in my blood blurred the line between right and wrong.
I moved my hand in an exaggerated twist as if I was asking him to dance with me. “After you, Viking.”
It was a lovely night in early November. Few people were around, and we walked in silence, with only the stars for company.
The Viking and I strolled through the streets of Veitsreuth, so close we might as well have been holding hands.
I wasn’t sure why I’d revealed myself to him. The only explanation I had was that I trusted Arne.
And you have a crush on him.
With a sigh, I pushed my hands into my coat pockets.
“That was pretty impressive,” he said after a while, kicking a stone out of the way.
Impressive?
I hummed.
“Is that your true form?” He dug deeper.
“Not exactly.”
How much can he handle before he’ll abandon me?
“I’m sorry if this is too personal.” Arne glanced at me out of the corner of his soulful blue eyes.
“It’s not, it’s just…” I hesitated. “Itispersonal, but not ‘too’ personal, if that makes sense?”
“Mmm, I think it does.” He smiled at his feet.
“I have two forms.”
What do I have to lose? Let’s end his stupid crush right now.
“Two?”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74