Birds of a Feather (Chrono Harlaown)
| Birds of a Feather (Chrono Harlaown) | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 26 October 2023 |
| Location: | Dark alley of Tokyo |
| Synopsis: | Chrono runs into another lost soul in his search for the crew of the Arthra. A hurt, wounded soul who, like him, needs help... And he has no choice but to offer it. |
| Cast of Characters: | Chrono Harlaown |
Another day, another exploration. In this case, he was walking through a small, dilapidated street of Tokyo. The kind of place where all manner of thugs and trouble makers tended to meetup. Did he expect to run into a member of the Arthra here?
Gosh no. But he had to turn over every stone he could. More importantly, he was in henshin. For once, not because he was on duty. But because he didn’t want to be caught off guard.
Some angry, shrill cries made him look down an alleyway and it wasn’t long before he found the source of the commotion. A bird cage. Inside was, possibly, the most beautiful bird he’d ever seen. With bright blue and pink feathers, it was gorgeous. Or, at least, it would have been.
Except the poor thing looked so dirty and cramped. The cage it was in was far, far too small for it. He took a small step towards it and looked around. Nobody… was there? It looked like the cage had just been put down in a hurry.
He slowly knelt down and started to open the cage… only to realize after a moment that the door was too small. The poor bird would likely be hurt if he tried to extract it. How long had it been in that cage? Could it even fly? Maybe if he--
“HEY YOU!” a voice called, making him stand up and turn around to see one of the doors leading into the alleyway was now open. “Hands off the merchandise, kid!”
Who? His eyes went wide… before he flicked his rod. A green stinger sword appeared and slashed through the top of the cage. The bird was in shock, or maybe it couldn’t even comprehend escape now. Either way, he grabbed it… and he flew away, leaving the man behind, perplexed and struggling to understand what he just saw.
==
Chrono sat on a rooftop, gently holding the bird and doing his best to keep it calm. It was hurt. Exhausted. Half starved. Half its feathers had either fallen out, been damaged or possibly plucked. It needed care. It was so… big, too. Far too big for that tiny cage. And it was scared, hurt. It might hurt itself more if he wasn’t careful. He gently placed it down on the roof while it bounced around in partial flights.
Why did he do it? Why? This… couldn’t be legal. Who would treat an animal like this? Who would treat ANYTHING like this? What else was there to do? What could he do? Could he help it?
Yes. There was… one way. He stared at it for a few more moments before sighing. Well, a bird was useful… And it would allow it to understand him better.
==
The spell to make a familiar was a useful one. Allowing an animal both intelligence they would normally not have, power harnessed from their master and, most of all, healing many of their wounds. Given a barrier jacket from the spell, the bird now stood before him.
Chrono couldn’t help being a little perplexed, but not altogether surprised. He wished for the familiar to serve as a ‘parent’ figure to deal with paperwork and the like. Or, at least, give the appearance of an adult. So the fact she was as tall as Setsuna wasn’t entirely strange. And her long blue hair the same blue as her feathers. With bright red eyes to go with her other feathers. “The contract is simple. Serve as my assistant until I am able to rescue those of the Arthra, but the contract can be extended if we both agree or severed by either party without the other's consent so long as the other is not endangered.”
From there, it was just a simple determination of what she desired…
And the answer didn’t surprise him. Especially once she told him more of what her experiences had been.
==
Chrono stared down from the roof, watching the man being dragged away in cuffs. The treatment of other animals was horrific. But the number of endangered animals he had been poaching… It was definitely a cruelty he was overjoyed to help put an end to.
On one arm a rather large lidth jay rested, gently consoled by his petting of its head. They watched for a long while before, silently, he lifted his arm and ‘Fenix’, as she had chosen, took her combat form. Growing into a great bird and wreathed in fire and ice. She flew into the air and he followed suit a moment later, flying away from that sector of the city.
Well, while he hadn’t found any member of the Arthra, he’d found something valuable. A new companion. One who had also been alone, hurt and come across the right person at the right time...
He hoped Rashmi liked her.
