"Tweet tweet tweet"

Lionel was resting on his bed when he heard those sounds from outside his tent. It has been a few hours since he talked with everyone.

What is that? His brows furrowed.

"Tweet tweet tweet"

More tweeting sounds from a bird sounded just outside. The sound became louder as if the bird was eager to catch his attention.

Why is there a bi— oh!

Lionel almost jumped out of his bed when he realized it. It must be the bird he saw in the forest!

Lionel quickly pushed himself up from the bed, ignoring the slight ache that still lingered in his body. The moment he stood up, he moved toward the entrance of the tent and pulled the flap aside.

Cool air brushed against his face as he stepped out.

"Tweet tweet tweet!"

The sound came again, but it was louder this time.

Lionel looked around to see where that bird was. Then his vision went to the ground, and surprisingly, there it was.

The bird was actually right in front of his tent, on the ground.

The small bird stood there as if it had been waiting for him this whole time. Its nice feathers looked almost out of place against the dirt. It tilted its head to the side the moment it saw Lionel, its eyes staring straight at him.

"Tweet tweet"

"..."

For a second, Lionel pressed his lips together.

Then—

"Hah..." A soft laugh slipped out of his lips.

"I can’t believe this," he muttered as he shook his head lightly.

Of all things, he couldn’t believe that he was actually getting visited by a bird.

Lionel crouched down slowly. He was careful not to startle it.

"You really went here?" he asked quietly as he recalled his last conversation with the bird.

"Tweet!" The bird chirped again in response.

[Bond Progress: 70%]

"I’ll take that as a yes then." Lionel let out another small laugh at that.

He studied the bird for a moment before asking another question.

"What do you want?" Lionel asked under his breath.

The bird only blinked at him, then hopped a little closer.

"Tweet."

[Bond Progress: 73%]

Lionel stared at it for a moment longer before letting out a quiet sigh.

"I can’t understand you, but I guess you can come in." Lionel made a face as he stepped aside. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Just then, the bird hopped to go inside his tent. Lionel couldn’t believe that he was actually seeing a bird go inside his tent.

Lionel stayed outside for a moment, then another soft laugh escaped from his lips. He shook his head, amused at everything.

"This is really happening..." he muttered under his breath.

Before following it, Lionel quickly glanced around. His eyes swept the nearby area, checking if any of the maids or knights were around.

Fortunately, no one was there.

"Good," he whispered.

He straightened up and quickly followed inside. He pulled the ten’s flap to close it.

The moment he turned around, he saw that the bird was already settling itself comfortably on the small table near his bed.

It fluffed its feathers once, then stayed still, as if it had already decided that this was its spot.

"..." Lionel stared at it.

"Tweet tweet."

[Bond Progress: 80%]

Lionel let out a small breath through his nose when he saw the progress. It was progressing faster now. He moved to sit on the edge of his bed.

For a moment, the two of them just looked at each other.

"This feels strange, you know," Lionel admitted quietly.

"Tweet tweet." The bird tilted its head again, its eyes fixed on him.

[Bond Progress: 82%]

Lionel’s lips curved slightly when he saw that.

"I can’t believe I’m talking like this," he said. "If someone sees me, they’ll think I’ve lost my mind."

"Tweet."

"Yeah...You’re not helping," Lionel replied. He slowly lay back on the bed after feeling the ache in his body getting worse.

"I will just lie down here and rest. You can stay... if you want," he said quietly. "Just don’t make too much noise, okay?"

"Tweet"

The bird remained where it was as if it understood him.

Lionel closed his eyes after that. He was still tired, and eventually, he forgot that there was a bird inside his tent.

Lionel’s breathing slowly evened out as he fell asleep. Just like that, the tent became quiet again.

On the table, the small bird stayed still for a moment, watching Lionel. Its head tilted once again.

"Tweet..." It made a small sound as it spread its wings gently and flew down.

The bird landed on Lionel’s stomach lightly.

It moved slightly, finding a comfortable spot before fluffing its feathers and settling down. Its small body rose and fell as Lionel breathed in and out of his sleep.

The two simply stayed like that for hours. The bird eventually fell asleep in Lionel’s stomach, too.

Time passed after that.

Outside, the sun slowly went down. Most of the nobles stayed in their tents the whole day. Most of them sustained an injury, so they were resting after what happened yesterday.

Inside the tent, Lionel remained asleep, completely unaware of what was happening.

Then just right at dinner’s time, Diana entered the tent, clueless.

"My lord, I—"

Diana’s voice got cut off as her eyes widened.

"What?"

For a moment, she just stood there, staring at the sight in front of her.

There was a bird on Lionel’s stomach!

"My lord!" Diana’s worried voice quickly surfaced. She ran at full speed to drive the bird away from Lionel.

"Tweet—!" Just then, the bird sensed the danger around. It shot up instantly, wings flapping in panic. Lionel pushed himself up slightly, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Why are you shouting?"

"My lord!" Diana stepped forward quickly, still in panic, "There was—there is a bird!" she shouted as the bird flew around in panic to chase it away.

"Ye—"

’Help me, master.’

’Help me.’

Just then, a soft voice reached his ears that made him pause.

"...Huh?"