Page 2 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
“Look, I know you don’t know me, but I know you can sense my magic. Can’t you tell I’m a friend of your kind?”
I did my best to push my power out, letting it seep around the room and fill it up so she could sense me and my intentions.
I’m not going to hurt you. I’m safe. I’m a friend.
I did my best to make my magic translate my intentions, and after a few seconds, she slowed her frantic flying and stopped screaming like a lunatic.
“That’s a girl. There we go. Come over here, sweetheart.” I held out my arm where I already had a bird glove on. This didn’t always work, but I was hoping she’d land so I wouldn’t have to use my net. I hated using it because it scared the supernatural creatures.
After one more circle around the attic, she gently landed on my arm, and I blew out a breath of relief, smiling at the sweet baby.
“That’s a good girl,” I cooed, using my other gloved hand to pet around her neck. I wasn’t about to let my skin touch her, or I would’ve had a whole new issue to deal with.
I was an empath.
Unfortunately.
Super freaking unfortunately. Because, that’s right, people sucked.
I could reach out with my magic and sense another’s emotions and usually the intention or reasoning behind those emotions. But if I touched a person—or an animal or supernatural creature—I had zero control over my power and that person’s emotions came flooding in like a goddamn monsoon.
I had a love-hate relationship with my power, and as much as it was an inconvenience sometimes, it had also helped me a lotin the past. And I’d been living with it my whole life, so wearing gloves and being careful around others was second nature.
It just sucked that I couldn’t get a good cuddle when I really wanted it. Not unless I wanted to know exactly what my cuddle-partner was feeling.
The firebird leaned into me, and I relaxed further. If she trusted me enough to let me pet her, I could likely put her right inside the transfer cage. If I could, I’d let her sit on my shoulder while I drove to the sanctuary, but that was way too risky.
No one wanted a huge bird with a forty-inch wingspan flapping in their face while they were driving—forty inchesplusfire. Nope, no way.
Plus, she’d likely touch the skin on my neck or face, and nope. I had enough anxiety in my everyday life, I didn’t need this pretty bird’s on top of it. Reading someone’s emotions while driving was a bad idea all around and would absolutely end in a car wreck.
So I’d have to put her in the transport cage and throw a cloth over it to keep her calm. It was the best I could do. But once we made it to the sanctuary, she’d be happier than ever. And safe. No one would ever be able to steal her feathers or try to remove her from her home. Maybe she’d even meet other firebirds there and make friends. They were rare enough that I wasn’t sure what the chances were, but I could hope.
“That’s a pretty girl. You’re such a good girl, yes you are.” I took a few minutes to pet her because I wanted to and to check her over. She was skinny, missing feathers, and looked a little rough.
But firebirds were still always beautiful, even in this condition. Her red and orange feathers were bright and shiny. So I was pretty sure she was healthy overall, just a little bit underfed… yet another reason to take her to the sanctuary.
“Alright, sweetheart, let’s get in the cage and get out of here.”
I walked over to the cage, and as I started to put her inside, she leaned into me and nuzzled against my chest. It was the absolute sweetest, cutest, most adorable thing ever.
And of course, it made me feel guilty for trying to cage her. Shit.
I didn’t have much of a choice. It was the only way I could get her to a safe place.
But gah! What a cutie pie. Now I just wanted to take her home with me.
A snort came out at that thought. Having a bird who could literally turn into a fireball inside my house seemed like a really bad idea. I mean, imagine what would happen to my curtains. And my furniture. Yikes.
So with that in mind, I gently placed her in the cage, gave her another pet, locked the cage door, and covered it with a black cloth. She was quiet and calm, so I figured I’d done a good job with my magic, and I went about cleaning up my tools.
My large net was in the corner of the attic on the floor, so I bent over to pick it up. I lifted the net, and two tiny, beady eyes stared back at me.
“Meeeep?”
“Ahhh!” A startled yelp escaped me as I scrambled backward and watched in horror as the little gross creature wearing a turquoise hat screamed in fear, turned around, showing me its bare ass, and made a run for a tiny hole in the wall.
Even after it dove inside, my heart beat frantically, and I shuddered in disgust. Blech, blech, blech. Ugh. Whhhhyyy did that thing have to be in here with me? For fuck’s sake.
