I awoke in my dim bedroom; the sky was still gray as I whipped the curtains open. The house was quiet, but the forest chittered with its inhabitants awakening. After throwing on some plain clothes and using the bathroom I walked softly down the squeaky stairs. I was an unnaturally silent person, to the point where people most times didn’t even notice me.  As I crept into the kitchen to pack food, I startled a sleepy Taglor. “Oh!” he exclaimed and jumped. “Sorry I didn’t notice you come in.” I lifted my finger to my lips signaling to be quieter. He nodded and whispered an apology as I continued to prepare some food for us. We grabbed our hunting gear and coats as we headed outside into the chilly morning.

The cool air carried a breeze that slightly moved blades of wild grass. Wildflowers were still closed, tucked away in sleep. Taglor’s feet made obnoxiously loud thumps at every footfall in the silence. “Can you walk a little quieter,” I asked trying not to seem rude. “Yeah, I’ll try,” responded Taglor still in a positive attitude. We wove through the forest along the deer paths listening to possible prey. We stumbled along a small group of ground birds nesting in nearby puffs of wild grasses. We both drew our weapons aiming arrow at a bird of our choice. Taglor eye caught on one of the birds at the edge of the group. I nudged his shoulder indicating to choose another bird. He looked at me confused before settling on another plumper looking bird. We both drew out bows, releasing our arrows at the same time and struck both our birds before the rest scurried back into their nests out of reach.

 We collected our birds tucking them in our packs and continuing on our way. All of the sudden the void bird swooped and landed on a branch near us, Taglor’s eyes widened as he drew his bow and arrow swiftly aiming at him. I processed what was happening very quickly before smacking Taglor right on the forehead lightly but with enough pressure to be startling. He dropped his weapon with a yelp, “Never shoot that bird.” I said in a very demanding voice, “And you,” I scolded the bird. “Unless you wish to be shot don’t make such an entrance.” Taglor scoffed and bent over to pick up his bow. The void bird launched from his branch diving straight towards him. Using quick reflexes, I grabbed the bird mid air when he got low enough. An aggressive shriek escaped the birds throat as I held him tightly against my chest. He started to settle down as a scared Taglor took a few steps back. “You stay here and deal with that bird, and ill walk ahead a little bit.” Taglor spoke out of fear and judgment towards the bird. I just nodded and looked down at the large bird in my arms.

 Once Taglor had walked away I sat on the grassy ground, the void bird still in my arms. It had calmed down somewhat but still stared angrily in the direction my forest companion had just went. His wings were folded to his sides and his soft feathers all messy after thrashing around. I ran my slim fingers through his feathers smoothing them out before flipping him over, cradling him like a baby as I worked on his tummy too. He made a pouty gurgling sound from his throat of disapproval. “Are you going to be a good boy now?” I asked the grumpy bird. If I thought about it this was the closest, I had ever been to the void bird. He wiggled in my arms before I gently set him on the ground and stood up. He was around the height of my knees and when he ruffled his feathers, he looked like a fluff ball. I started to catch up to Taglor when I heard a squeak behind me. The void bird promptly flew up and landed on my shoulder with sturdy gripping talons clinging to me. He relaxed on my shoulder after landing and stared down at me expectingly. I chuckled a little under my breath before continuing on my way the void bird casually sitting on my shoulder bobbing with each step.

 When we arrived home, it was almost lunch time, my father and Bomo sat on the porch drink fruit juice. Their conversation paused as we approached, the void bird had sat quietly on my shoulder the entire time. “How you’d tame that thing,” Bomo asked eyeing the bird sitting on my shoulder. I just shrugged bouncing the bird in the process and heading inside as Taglor started to recall what had happened. The bird made quiet almost unhear able noises as I entered the house. Chirpy hums came from deep in his chest only loud enough for me to hear. Muffled voices got louder as my mom rounded the corner with a platter of lunch and a chatty Mara behind her. “Hello dear- Oh wow is that a void bird!?” My mom exclaimed cautiously, beside her Mara looked surprised as well. “Yes, and it seems he will be dining us today too.” I had noticed how his black eyes examined the lunch platter.

 We sat down for lunch outside on the porch with the men, a salad with healthy leaves, dried fruits and nuts was served alongside triangle sandwiches. Everyone zoned into their own conversation and I directed my attention towards the bird on my shoulder. He was to far up to eat so, I moved him to my lap “Good boy,” I whispered to him as he settled comfortably. I fed him the sandwiches and salad as I ate my own. When he seemed full, he ruffled up his feathers and delicately pushed at my arm. He continued to brush up against me without being too obvious, as if he cared if the others at the table knew he wanted my attention. I started petting his soft feathers causing him to lean against my side slightly. He seemed contempt with the petting and I continued until my father mentioned it. “After hearing Taglors story about what happened and now seeing the bird loathing with the attention it seems like he was just attacking Taglor out of jealousy,” My parents and the guests chuckled at the observation as the void bird simply stood up almost defiantly and flew away. His soaring black body disappeared above the trees.

 I joined in a few of the conversations as we finished up lunch and I headed inside to do the dishes and maybe read some before I had to do anything else. The rest of the day passed fairly calm, I learned that our guests would only be staying a 2 more full days before continuing their journey. That night before I crawled into bed, I opened my window, “Goodnight, and thank you for singing me to sleep.” I spoke adoringly at the bird. Its black eyes peered back at me with a soft expression, before turning away to observe the yard.