Page 28 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
Winter
His number was printed underneath.
I quickly entered it into my phone and pulled up a text chain, debating what to say for a few minutes. Finally, I decided to go with simple.
Me: Hey, it’s Miles. I’m up and feeling fine. Thank you for your help earlier!
I sent it and cringed at the exclamation mark, regretting it instantly. I was such a dork and had no idea how to interact with people. I was much better with animals and faeries.
Standing, I stretched, then scooped up Odin and walked over to the bathroom in the hall—not the one attached to my bedroom—and opened the door. I was greeted with a happy trill that made me smile.
“Hey, pretty girl. How’re you doing today?”
Walking inside, I lifted a hand and waited for her to examine it before I began scratching her neck. She had a couple of spots that she really loved, and I found one right away, and the pretty firebird leaned heavily into my hand.
Odin meowed his complaint. How dare I pay attention to someone other than the little prince.
I kissed the top of his head. “Oh, stop. I’m literally hugging you right now.”
He rubbed his head on my chin in response, making me smile. I tried to pet the top of his head with my chin to make up for petting the firebird.
“Alright, you. You wanna come downstairs with us?” I asked the firebird.
As if understanding the question, she let out another happy trill and lifted her foot, asking me to hold my arm out as a perch. I did so, and she expertly used her beak and claws to climb up to my shoulder. Luckily, I had on long sleeves, so her talons didn’t hurt me at all.
I wasn’t sure how she was doing it, but every time I picked her up, she made her flames disappear so I wouldn’t get burned.She was very considerate, and not for the first time, I couldn’t help but wonder if she had more experience with humans than I initially thought. She was just too comfortable, not only with me, but in my home.
With a cat in one arm and a firebird on the opposite shoulder, I headed down to my kitchen. I’d slept through lunch, so I was starving and needed to find something to cook.
When I put food in Odin’s bowl, he wanted to get down, so I set him on his little table and went to rummage for my own food.
My phone buzzed, so I pulled it out.
Winter: I’m glad you’re feeling better. Can I come over to talk to you?
My brow furrowed. What did he want to talk about? I winced. He probably wanted to ask about me being an empath or maybe he wanted to figure out what happened back there with the gnomes. Gnomes never did shit like that. They didn’t attack. They didn’t try to hurt people.
Ever.
And yet…
I let out a sigh.
Plus, we’d left the job half-done.
So I responded the only way I could.
Me: Sure.
Almost as soon as I sent it, there was a knock on my front door.
What the hell? That couldn’t be Winter, right? What was he doing? Standing on my porch, waiting for me to text back?
The firebird was still on my shoulder, and since I just took her out, I wasn’t about to lock her back up. But I also didn’t want whoever was out there to see her. I’d bought a second perch for the living room yesterday, so I set her there and went for the door. It was probably just a cable salesman or something.
When I opened it, I was surprised to see Winter on my porch. I blinked. “Um, hi.” Had he really just been standing outsidewaiting for me to tell him he was allowed to come over? How else had he gotten here that quickly? He lived close by, but not that close.
“Hey.” He sent me a small smile. “Can I come in?”
