"Fly!" shouts the hunter, running around, packing up everything. A few coins end up on the floor, ignored in his haste to escape. The bird flies out the window, circling around outside.
"They're coming for us! Go out the window, there's no time."
Like he's been doing it forever, Atalon swings himself out the window, facing the wall, lowering himself down on his hands like a boss. The man's good with fear, not letting it stop him. He drops down to the ground, landing relatively smoothly. After only a moment, he's up and running for the gates.
The bird swoops down, barely keeping up with the rather fast-moving hero.
"They haven't seen us. We might get away."
Atalon continues stomping through the streets, kicking up metaphorical dust. When he comes to the low walls, he vaults and climbs them, not wanting to risk a gate. The bird is on the parapet, looking back.
"We're clear. Over the wall and get away from the city and I think we'll make it."
Two steps, another drop-and-fall, and the hunter is outside and heading for the nearby woods. He's finally slowing down a bit, don't want to get stuck in the mud and slippery things from generations of far too many sheep.
It's a few minutes later, and he's sitting at the base of a tree, well outside bowshot of the walls. The bird is perched in a branch, staring back at them.
"We're going to have to talk", says the hunter. "About what you did."
"You can't go around stealing things. It's not right. Things belong to people. ..." Atalon stops, opening the pack again, and pulling out a few of the small items.
"Look, this belongs to Krytin. She made it, put a lot of time and effort into it. It's how she stays alive, feeds her family. You can't just steal things."
The bird tilts his head, looking unperturbed.
Next he pulls out the diamond necklace. It sparkles in the early morning sunlight. "And this belongs to.. well, the lord. He's not a nice person, but it's still his stuff. You can't just take this."
Third out is the set of electrum candle holders. "And these are made from donations. They're probably a hundred years old, at least. A lot of people are going to miss this."
"So.. are you going to give them back?" interjects the bird.
"I can't. There's too much stuff here, from too many people. They'll just lock me up, throw me in jail. Maybe kill me. This is..
His expression shifts from a fearful expression to a frown.
"...This is way too valuable to have been an accident. You didn't take some stuff. You took a little from everyone, and you took all the best stuff."
The bird says nothing.
"This isn't a random haul. The loot is way too good. And everyone's going to be angry. Everyone.
..You set me up."
Atalon comes to his feet and draws his bow. The bird is currently on the far side of a tree, behind cover. It speaks.
"..Yeah. I did."
"Who put you up to it? I don't know you, and I don't believe you'd have done this to some random person."
"Don't assume. But no. You seemed like a good person."
"What?"
"You gave me bacon."
"What?"
"Bacon is good. So I wanted to do a good thing for you."
"What?"
It's a bit later. The bird is still up on a tree branch, but Atalon has put his bow down and is seated on the ground.
"So the Kuzenko company put you up for this?"
"Yup."
"And.. you had to mess up my life?"
"Yup."
"And you thought I was nice because I gave you bacon."
"Well, not just the bacon. but.." ... "Well, at least 40% of it was the bacon. Bacon is good."
"So you gave me money."
"I didn't just give you money. I gave you stuff that's really, really valuable. I gave you a LOT of money. Took me all night to get it, too. And some of the day."
"Okay, okay, but you still fucked with my life."
"Yeah, but you're a nice person. So I fucked with your life. But I did it in a way that made you rich."
At this point, Atalon takes out his canteen for a swig of liquid, eyes shut. He's slowly breathing. In. Out. In. Out. All else is silent.
"Okay. I can see the logic. It's crazy moon-bird logic that bears no resemblance to the world the rest of us live in, but it's a kind of logic. Is this the sort of thing that happens in the spirit world?"
"No, that was just nonsense. You should be more careful when talking to strange creatures. I just made up all that spirit stuff."
"So what are you?"
"Apparently I'm here to save the world."
"... Just go away, please?"
"Fly!" shouts the hunter, running around, packing up everything. A few coins end up on the floor, ignored in his haste to escape. The bird flies out the window, circling around outside.
"They're coming for us! Go out the window, there's no time."
Like he's been doing it forever, Atalon swings himself out the window, facing the wall, lowering himself down on his hands like a boss. The man's good with fear, not letting it stop him. He drops down to the ground, landing relatively smoothly. After only a moment, he's up and running for the gates.
The bird swoops down, barely keeping up with the rather fast-moving hero.
"They haven't seen us. We might get away."
Atalon continues stomping through the streets, kicking up metaphorical dust. When he comes to the low walls, he vaults and climbs them, not wanting to risk a gate. The bird is on the parapet, looking back.
"We're clear. Over the wall and get away from the city and I think we'll make it."
Two steps, another drop-and-fall, and the hunter is outside and heading for the nearby woods. He's finally slowing down a bit, don't want to get stuck in the mud and slippery things from generations of far too many sheep.
It's a few minutes later, and he's sitting at the base of a tree, well outside bowshot of the walls. The bird is perched in a branch, staring back at them.
"We're going to have to talk", says the hunter. "About what you did."
"You can't go around stealing things. It's not right. Things belong to people. ..." Atalon stops, opening the pack again, and pulling out a few of the small items.
"Look, this belongs to Krytin. She made it, put a lot of time and effort into it. It's how she stays alive, feeds her family. You can't just steal things."
The bird tilts his head, looking unperturbed.
Next he pulls out the diamond necklace. It sparkles in the early morning sunlight. "And this belongs to.. well, the lord. He's not a nice person, but it's still his stuff. You can't just take this."
Third out is the set of electrum candle holders. "And these are made from donations. They're probably a hundred years old, at least. A lot of people are going to miss this."
"So.. are you going to give them back?" interjects the bird.
"I can't. There's too much stuff here, from too many people. They'll just lock me up, throw me in jail. Maybe kill me. This is..
His expression shifts from a fearful expression to a frown.
"...This is way too valuable to have been an accident. You didn't take some stuff. You took a little from everyone, and you took all the best stuff."
The bird says nothing.
"This isn't a random haul. The loot is way too good. And everyone's going to be angry. Everyone.
..You set me up."
Atalon comes to his feet and draws his bow. The bird is currently on the far side of a tree, behind cover. It speaks.
"..Yeah. I did."
"Who put you up to it? I don't know you, and I don't believe you'd have done this to some random person."
"Don't assume. But no. You seemed like a good person."
"What?"
"You gave me bacon."
"What?"
"Bacon is good. So I wanted to do a good thing for you."
"What?"
It's a bit later. The bird is still up on a tree branch, but Atalon has put his bow down and is seated on the ground.
"So the Kuzenko company put you up for this?"
"Yup."
"And.. you had to mess up my life?"
"Yup."
"And you thought I was nice because I gave you bacon."
"Well, not just the bacon. but.." ... "Well, at least 40% of it was the bacon. Bacon is good."
"So you gave me money."
"I didn't just give you money. I gave you stuff that's really, really valuable. I gave you a LOT of money. Took me all night to get it, too. And some of the day."
"Okay, okay, but you still fucked with my life."
"Yeah, but you're a nice person. So I fucked with your life. But I did it in a way that made you rich."
At this point, Atalon takes out his canteen for a swig of liquid, eyes shut. He's slowly breathing. In. Out. In. Out. All else is silent.
"Okay. I can see the logic. It's crazy moon-bird logic that bears no resemblance to the world the rest of us live in, but it's a kind of logic. Is this the sort of thing that happens in the spirit world?"
"No, that was just nonsense. You should be more careful when talking to strange creatures. I just made up all that spirit stuff."
"So what are you?"
"Apparently I'm here to save the world."
"... Just go away, please?"
