Rune marveled at the television remote and started pressing random buttons in hopes it would do something. Buttons always did something.
She left her new clothes and the other shiny things in a pile for later while she was dazzled with the rest of the house.
She was still half naked, but didn’t seem to mind.
"Hey… are you gonna change? You're half-naked for god's sake…"
He said to the girl slowly taking the remote from her, turning the tv off.
Looking back at Mercy, blank-faced
"have her go change…."
Rune grabbed the remote back out of his hands, “No! Bad bird!” She snapped at him and turned the TV back on. She ran over to his couch and “perched,” or rather, crouched on the backboard of it. She held the remote clutched in both hands, looking at him indignantly with pursed lips.
”Occasionally, yes. It's quite interesting what this world considers important information though most of what I have seen has been either generally depressing, humiliating, complete fabrications or… political.” She couldn't help the way her face scrunched up at the last word, as if it left an offensive taste behind it. For a brief moment, her eyes flashed a nauseous shade of green at the thought. But she knew that politics were a necessary evil with this assignment, she had to put some of it in her reports.
”Though some of the “scientific” magazines are more interesting, they are still a bit comical. I much prefer the books here, anyway.” She smiled as she let herself relax a bit more, her hair taking on the appearance of flowing quicksilver. There was indeed something almost magical about the books of this world. The feel of them, the smell, even the way the words seemed to hold potential… they were very durable as well.
”Rune!”
Her eyes widened at Rune’s surprising behavior. This was a shock! Then again if she was this new to the world, it made some sense that she was curious but…
”Bad bird?” Is that a reference to his wings?
”Rune come down from there. Let's get you dressed.” Mercy’s eyes took on a pink hue when she next looked at Young-Jae before attempting to lead Rune to the spare bathroom he had mentioned.
“Screeeee!!” Rune leapt off the bed waving her arms wildly as if they were wings in a futile attempt to fly. She collapsed onto the floor with a hard thud, and her scree dwindled to a soft whimper. Sometime in the middle of this, the remote had flown out of Rune’s hands and landed somewhere beside Young-Jae.
Young-Jae, extremely confused, and a little offended. He picked up the remote turning the tv off and setting it on the table with a sigh. Dusting off his couch, making sure no marks were made from the crazy lady.
"Teach her how to be a proper human while you're at it…. Even if she's not… She needs to learn how to act."
She says in a very proper yet stern voice. Taking off his single black glove from his right hand.
"This shall be fun"
Mercy bit her lip at his first comment, almost wanting to point out how ironic that statement was coming from someone who clearly wasn’t human either. But neither was she, she never claimed to be, so she kept her rude statement to herself.
From first glance, Rune didn't seem injured, except perhaps her pride.
”Here Rune, let me help you.” She carefully reached for the fallen girl, assuming the same gentle way of speaking she used earlier. ”Are you hurt?”
There was something about Rune's behavior that seemed familiar… Perhaps she was more wild than she had originally thought.
Young-Jae felt a little bad, but nonetheless, he had to say it. Even if she wasn't human, she had to act like it.
Exactly like Youn-Jae. He didn't look like a human, but if you just went off of how he acted, anyone would've guessed he was.
Now… he just hoped no-one found these two. Then the government would really be on him.
It was so boring… they didn't even know how to fight, which was no fun.
He's killed hundreds of government soldiers, just because they didn't know how to fight.
They were like little annoying insects…. they dont know who they were to try and bite him.
Rune clamped onto Mercy’s hand to pull herself up. She examined her arms and knees, which would soon turn a shade of blue and purple. She knew this phrase, are you hurt? a familiar phrase, one she always knew how to answer, “No.”
Mercy nodded at Rune’s response, doubtful that she knew how to lie. ”That’s good. I’m glad.” She smiled in relief. ”Now, come with me. Let's see how that shiny shirt looks on you.” She grabbed the new clothes that they had set out for Rune and lead her to the guest room.
And maybe do something about this wild hair.
As they past Young-Jae, her eyes turned a firm gray. ”I’ll teach her what I can to blend in with this world but it will take some time, just like with a child. It's best to start slow and be gentle.”
Rune held onto Mercy’s arms with both hands, following her lead with shoulders hunched. She picked up each foot gingerly, stepping down full footed—Almost like a bird gait. She threw a brief black-eyed glance at Young-Jae, growling, a low croak, quietly from her throat.
It was almost an afterthought to lock the door behind them. Mercy was doubtful that Young-Jae would intrude but…
Did that come out as a threat or a promise?
She didn't mean to be harsh, but she had always had a protective streak and now it was for Rune.
”Rune, I'm sorry that I scared you earlier. It was my fault you fell.”
Guess I am sort of a mother now.
Her eyes soften to a light blue looking at the dark-haired girl but still retained a gray tint.
”Let’s get you cleaned up before we get you dressed.”
She had noticed Rune's strange way of walking… The more she thought about the odd quirks in her behavior…
”Rune, I don't know if you understand this but, what are you? It's obvious you only look human.”
Young-Jae looks at the girls as they both give him weird looks. A little offended after he just helped them. But it's inevitable. He sat on the couch twirling what looks like an orb in his hand. It would levitate, then go back down. It looked like he grabbed a piece of space (which he did lol) and just started playing with it.
"I really hope that girl knows what she's doing… "
Rune looked back up at Mercy and blinked; she tilted her head. A few of those words sounded familiar, but not…quite. She hopped up the the edge of the bathtub to “perch” there again, “Rune,” She croaked.
Mercy gave a soft smile at the response, not sure what exactly she had been expecting.
She sat on the edge of the tub with her, ”Ok then, we'll figure this out somehow.”
As she reached over to turn on the water, Mercy noticed a silver bracelet on Rune’s wrist. ”Rune, where did you get that?” She asked, gesturing at it slowly.
Rune pulled the bracelet close to herself, protective of it. She stared at it for a long time before slowly outstretching her arm to show Mercy in hopes this nice lady might be able to take it off. The metal band wrapped tightly around her wrist, so much so the skin around it was red; on it was engraved: Property of Finneas Mévouinnes.
When Mercy saw the band and the engraving, she made a distinct sound that was most definitely not human. If a human were to attempt to describe it, the closest they could get would be a combination of a strangled shriek, a short surprised squawk and the low growl of some kind of bear that only lasted for a moment.
“I’m sorry.” Her hands muffled the sound. She didn’t want to scare Rune. “I’m sorry.”
Her eyes were a clashing myriad of colors, displaying every emotion she had at this revelation. She may not know who this Finneas Mévouinnes was but she couldn't stop the brief shudder from just reading his name. She already hated the man.
This is so wrong!! Owning a sentient being has been illegal on many worlds for centuries!!!
For a moment she couldn't speak. She needed to focus otherwise her shapeshifting would run rampant with her form.
Mercy took a deep shuddering breath to regain control. She brushed a strand of limp colorless hair back.
“Rune, I promise I won’t let that man hurt you again.”
Rune flinched at the strange noise, bringing back her wrist close to herself to look at the band. She squinted, trying to bury a finger under it and try to break it off, but, it wouldn’t give. She huffed, a human habit she quickly learned that meant frustration, “This stays on. This stays on” She repeated the phrase, a phrase she probably heard from Finneas. Along with “bad bird.”
Mercy nodded sadly, “For now, yes. But not forever. We will find a way to get it off.”
The question was how to do that.
First; I’ll mention that criminal and what he’s done in my report… see if what information exists about him, then if no one can or will help… Ok, slow down… let’s not make those plans yet… that kind of action is why you volunteered for this assignment.
She held back a huff of her own and turned back to her original task.
“But for right now let’s get you a nice bath going.”
Rune rested her arm back down to rest in her lap. “Bath,” she recalled the word, meant drenching oneself in water. Her baths were always fun to splash in, even if she got yelled at for it sometimes, “I like baths.” She decided with a happy bob of her head.
She chuckled lightly again at Rune’s seemingly childish nature. Starting the water, Mercy decided to change her hair to a curly dark brown short “pixie” style as her eyes settled on a light green.
“Do you need help with your clothes?” She already figured Rune would need some help with washing her hair since she had probably never heard of shampoo or conditioner.
Rune tilted her head, unsure what that phrase meant. Clothes? What were clothes? She reached to touch Mercy’s shirt. We’re these clothes? “This is clothes?” She squinted, recalling Mercy and Young-Jae talking about clothes earlier in reference to these replacement feathers.
Mercy blinked owlishly for a moment, not knowing quite how to respond.
“Y-yes Rune. That’s a shirt, it’s a type of clothing.”
In a way it almost made sense that Rune didn’t understand the word considering she was only wearing a repurposed blanket at the moment… but Mercy was having a hard time recalling a world where they didn’t know of clothes. Even the few worlds she knew of that didn’t wear any had heard of them due to interactions with some that did. She even had a few colleagues that didn’t wear anything.
“I meant do you need help taking yours off.” She clarified placing a hand likewise on the cloth Rune was covered with.
“Off,” Rune repeated this time, slowly connecting the two words together clothes; off “Yes.” She finally decided, “Clothes off and bath, yes.” She lifted a hand to scratch an itch under her arm, “Clothes off to take a bath, Finneas takes baths.”