Her eyes brightened at the progress Rune was making with her speech. It was still slow but…
”You really are a smart girl, aren't you Rune?”
She kept her motions steady as she removed the first piece of the old blanket though it was hard to hide the brief flash of red tinting her otherwise currently green eyes at his name.
Mercy's stomach churned a bit as she realized; if she really wanted to be able to help Rune, she would need more information.
”What else does he do?”
“Smart bird,” Rune smiled, “Finneas said Rune is a smart bird.” She watched the old blanket piece fall to the ground, “He makes shinies, pretty shinies that pop” She mimicked the noises, which resembled something between bubbles and sparks of electricity.
At those two words, Mercy felt as if someone had forced all the air out of her lungs.
A bird. … Rune was a bird.
That actually explained a lot of the traits she had seen. She had even tried to fly earlier!
”What kind of bird are you?” Thinking about it, Mercy actually had an idea of what smart black bird Rune had been.
Doesn’t sound like science. Could be from a magical realm.
”Did he ever use those ”shinies” on you?”
Rune glanced off to the side in thought, squinting hard at the wallpaper, “Bird, bird..” she mumbled, “Bad bird, pretty raven, come here, raven, Rune, raven, eat raven, no, Rune—“ she rambled and rambled, eventually growing anxious and shaky. She hunched her shoulders and gripped the sides of the bathtub with her fingers, her long fingernails scraping against the porcelain underneath the rim of the tub.
(If Young-Jae saw that: MY PORCELAIN NOoOOOOooOO)
(Lol … sorry this scene is taking so long.)
(We could possibly skip to after Rune’s bath and after she gets dressed when they leave the bathroom)
Mercy didn't even think her next action through. She wrapped an arm around Rune’s shoulders, holding her close, and started running her free hand down Rune’s hair.
”Shh, it's ok. You're ok. You're safe.” She murmured gently, hoping to calm her down from … was this a panic attack? She wasn't sure: she never encountered one before.
She barely took a moment to recognize that her theory had been correct before alternating between the continuous soothing English and some calm encouraging Raven sounds.
Maybe it will help.
Rune seemed calmed by the comforting motion, gradually breathing less fearfully. She wrapped her arms around Mercy, “Bird, bird,” she repeated softly and closed her eyes. Her words faded to a whisper, then to a murmur, then to nothing at all. She mimicked the raven noises, finding peace in the familiarity.
As Rune’s breathing finally evened out, Mercy slowly stopped the steady flow of words and released her embrace to look over the girl.
”Better?” she asked softly, though her voice still had a slight chirp to it.
As a Raven, Rune couldn't have been a slave. It's more likely she was a pet. Which fortunately for Finneas isn't illegal. But now that she's human… Poor thing. Must have been quite a shock.
(@Ladybug_Fly_Away_Home if you want to I'm fine with that.)
(Alrighty)
Rune relaxed, “Better,” She repeated the word, turning her attention to the interesting faucet handles.
After her bath, Rune let Mercy help her into her new clothes. She seemed uncomfortable with the restrictive sleeves and arms, but let it stay on with the understanding that not wearing it wasn’t an option. She huffed with brief frustration and “strutted”—like a true bird—out of the bathroom.
Mercy stayed behind for a couple of minutes to tidy up after. Since she was almost sure they were inconveniencing Young-Jae, it was mostly an act of common courtesy, and part of the apology she owed him for earlier.
Satisfied with her work, she followed Rune to the main room where she saw Young-Jae tossing a strange orb in the air repeatedly.
She cleared her throat to get his attention, “What do you think?”
Rune was preoccupied with her sequined cuffs on her sleeves, pure-black eyes intrigued the shine coming off of them. Of course, always interested in shinies, Her freshly-dried and brushed hair fell against her back and over her shoulders. It still had split ends and properly needed a professional spa day, but it was much better than this morning.
(Ah I'm so sorry i was asleep)
Young-Jae looked over at her, the orb dropping on the floor, making him jump, the orb looking as if it spilled on the floor, creating a weirdly shaped portal. Immediately looking at it, he snapped (he's Thanos yall! Jk) making the or come back to his hand, looking as if he had rewound time.
"Yeah… It looks fine. She smells a lot better, did she bathe?"
He asks, hoping they didn't ruin his bathtub.
(No problem!)
Rune crouched down on the floor, using her hands to steady herself. Perching as a human was much more difficult than it was when she was a raven. She missed it, but the bath was fun! She let out a low guttural croak down to the ground.
Looking over at her, his eyes narrow curiously a bit,
"Is she a bird or something?"
He says genuinely wanting to know if she was mentally okay.
“Yes, to both. She’s actually a Raven.” She answered, half distracted by his own abilities. “How did you do that?”
"Howd i do what oh this?"
He looks at his hand, the orb floating above it.
"Well, I'm not human as you can tell. Not being human comes with a few perks i guess"
He says looking back at her
Rune gestured to the orb, “Finneas has that.” Obviously not that exact orb, but one like it. She looked to Mercy, hoping she heard.
"Finneaus? Who's that?"
He says making the orb disappear. His third eye looking at the bracelet on her wrist, he reads the inscription. His eye gives him a few abilities, better sigh was one of them.
She rolled her eyes playfully at his comment. “Obviously. At times it’s surprising that human’s have managed to come this far.” She smirked letting a pair of her own wings emerge as well as a tail resembling that of a feline.
At Rune’s statement she couldn’t help but stiffen slightly. Mercy knelt down next to her, “What does he do with it?”
Glancing back at Young-Jae and trying not to growl she answered, “Someone who lost his Raven and won’t be getting her back.”
"oh? And where do we find him? All i need is a location. Is he here on earth?"
He said leaning back. He obviously had something planned, and he was going to go through with it.
Feeling confident, he stood up, looking at the girls, glaring at the bracelet, waiting for an answer.
Rune pulled her wrist up to look at the band, squinting at the seemingly ordinary metal. She couldn’t answer either of those questions asked, but she did remember the words: “I will find you,” she croaked, “The band, it helps.” Could the location work both ways?
(Gah, I’m so excited to roleplay Finneas Lol)
