Natasha the Halve

Lapia stared at me for a second, then tilted her head. “Mind elaborating?” She voiced her confusion.

I nodded. “Nilenna gifted me Pyotr for helping the King,” I explained while gesturing at the Corvitex on my shoulder.

“How generous of her,” Elena commented with respect in her tone.

“Sis! Best!” the bird croaked.

Not the bird too, I sighed in my mind and stored the letters and the stamp.

Lapia gave the big raven a tight smile.

“Oh!” Yolin, who was at the front of the group and must have heard the bird, breathed in surprise while looking at us. “A Corvitex. Haven't seen one this close in around a century.”

“Hello! I! Pyotr!” he introduced himself in a series of croaks.

I was a little disturbed with the cognitive capacity of the animal. While I knew parrots could mimic speech with relative ease, the fact a Corvitex could have what felt like a conversation made me feel a very strong uncanny feeling.

“Warrior! Sis! Now! Pyotr! Happy!” he cawed and rubbed his head on mine. “Halves! Good!”

Yikes, I winced, feeling the feathery animal snuggle against me.

“Awww!” Alyssa crooned from behind us, then giggled, “He likes you already!”

I turned to him with an attempted smile. “My name is Natasha, not Warrior,” I tried explaining.

He nodded and blinked two times, then croaked, “Understood! Natasha!”

Well, that was easy, I thought with a satisfied smile and looked to the front.

We slowly moved through the city since the time was a little after lunch and the streets were a little packed with people in mounts, pedestrians, carriages, and magical vehicles.

Alyssa, Elena, and Yolin busied themselves with talking to the Corvitex. Their conversation went from places the bird had visited to how many letters he had delivered. Turns out, Pyotr has over four centuries of experience in traveling the world. Besides the north of Makah, the bird had flown all over the planet according to him.

It was quite the disturbing spectacle.

Once we made it to the building we were staying at, Sonya stood in front of me and stared at the bird on my shoulder.

“Ratnak!” Pyotr cawed and jumped down to the floor between me and my mount. He spread his wings wide and batted them once, then croaked, “Come!”

The Ratnak reared her head back and gave the comparatively small bird a headbutt.

The Corvitex got pushed back by sheer size difference but remained conscious, much to my surprise.

“Name?” he croaked and shook his head.

“Sonya,” I supplied, deeply confused by the bizarre interaction.

The two animals stared at each other for a good ten seconds, then the bird flew up and landed on Sonya's head. There, he pecked her scales a few times and, of all things, started laughing.

The sound was similar to a seagull's.

What the fuck was that? I wondered in stupefaction, then looked around to see if anyone else saw the same as I did.

Pokora was standing a few steps to the side next to her mount and looking at the two animals with wide eyes. She came to her senses and blinked a few times, then shook her head with a sigh.

Well, I'm not the only one, I thought with relief, then turned to the bird. I had no idea how to take care of a Corvitex. Well, time to go to the library. I'll go to the market and have the toys done, and then I'll read about them, I concluded with a satisfied nod. I also have to deliver the King's letter. Since I have no bones I don't know if I should send Pyotr. Not as simple as it seemed...

Alyssa walked to me and wrapped a scaly hand on my nape, then gave me a kiss on the cheek. “What has you thinking so deeply?” she probed.

I turned to her and asked, “Do you know about Corvitex...es? Corvitexi?” I looked up at the ceiling of the rest post. “What's the plural?”

“Corvitex,” she supplied with a giggle. “I know a little, yes. You should learn about them yourself, though.”

I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I will. Just thinking about the time before I go fetch a book about them. Before that, however, I need a shower.”

She agreed and we made our way into the building proper and towards the stairs. The rest had already gone up so it was me, Alyssa, and Pokora in the lobby.

Pyotr stayed with Sonya.

“Your Excellency Natasha,” the concierge approached me and bowed. “You received mail,” she informed me and produced a trio of envelopes.

I held back a loud sigh and took them. “Thank you.”

“A pleasure.” She gave me polite smile and turned back to the front desk.

One had the Royal Crest of Lumin Kingdom, another one had the Royal Crest of Tidon Kingdom, and the last one had 'From Ranulf Trok' written on it.

I stored the letters and went up the stairs holding Alyssa's hand.

Pokora walked behind us, humming a vaguely familiar tune.

We entered the apartment and I went straight to the bathroom for a much needed shower.

After that we had a big salad for lunch and lazed about.

I remained on the table and retrieved the envelopes. First was Lumin Kingdom's. It held three sheets of paper.

The first was from the King.

'Your Excellency Natasha Novak,

We hope that you don't mind me announcing your involvement in my recovery. As Monarchs, we must inform the populace of such affairs for various reasons. The details of the matter will not be disclosed without your explicit authorization, however. That, we promise you.

While the Kingdom is our responsibility, slighting you is by no means permissible.

I shan't squander the gift of a second chance at life.

We had initially planned to let you know when the publication draft was finished and request feedback, but you had already left for the dungeon.

A copy is attached to this letter.

Eternally grateful,

Gordon Igne Lumin IV, Monarch of Lumin Kingdom.'

The second paper was from the Queen.

'Thine Excellency Natasha Novak.

Forgive me if this sounds strange, but I beg for thine forgiveness if I have slighted thine grace. I toil with the worry of having caused thee to see me as unfit to seek for guidance. While my heart is full of joy at seeing thee choose my husband for counsel, thou hast not seeketh mine advice although I am Queen.

If thou would'st forgive mine presumption, I would be beside myself in joy if thou would'st accept an invitation for a meeting that would put our hearts, and mayhaps any misconception, at ease. Thou art more than welcome to come as thou sees fit to our Royal Palace.

Of course, I serve thee and will do as thou bid'st.

Praising the Eternal Protector,

Josalya Hyth Lumin, Queen of Lumin Kingdom.'

I took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose, then sighed and stored both papers. I need a dictionary and a thesaurus, I concluded while staring at the table. And I have to go see her... I definitely was a bit too harsh when dealing with her.

The third paper was a seven paragraphs long text that mentioned the King being indisposed and me 'ridding him of the cause' without much fanfare and flowery language.

I was satisfied with the objectivity of it all. It was leagues better than Lady Dabrak's cringe interview in my opinion.

Next was Tidon's letter.

'You Excellency Natasha Novak,

I extend greetings on this most auspicious of days and would like to remind Your Excellency of our request of seeing our-'

I stopped reading and stored the spam mail.

Next was Ranulf's letter.

'Your Excellency Natasha Novak,

I write to inform Your Excellency of Sussanna's hanging. It will come to pass this 5^th day of the 5^th month at the Endless Pit. We depart from the southern Levator at sunrise.

Wishing you plentiful spoils of war,

Ranulf Trok.'

I stared at the paper for a few seconds, then facepalmed. I totally forgot about that! Ah, whatever. Not like I wanted to see that bitch get hanged. Fuck her. Insolent little shit. She can go choke on a dick for all I care, I cursed her with a frown and stored the letters.

The table in front of me was now empty.

I took out a sketch book and removed a few pages, then produces a pencil, an eraser, and a quill. “Time to write letters, I guess.”

The first one was for Nilenna. I gave the wording of the message a good thinking, and chose to write it in Russian since she named the bird Pyotr.

'Nilenna,

First of all, thank you for your letters so far, and for gifting me Pyotr. He's incredibly smart.

The King was under the influence of a female Demon. A level 900 Felyareth if I'm to be precise. She had been consuming his life force for a little under two months which caused his health to decline considerably. The King confided in me a series of nightmares he was having that were the clue I needed to discern the nature of his problems and find a solution: the Demon's death. Her name was Nerissa and she came directly from Hell three hundred years ago if she's to be believed. Circumstances prevented me from extracting specific information before ending her life. She had an aura of sorts that amplified arousal and was able to shapeshift. She mentioned having come to Galeia along with a thousand or so of her kind. I will attach a drawing of her.

As for Yulianna's whereabouts... the only thing that comes to mind is places that Perculis visited.

I'm sure you're a very good tracker, Nilenna. If anything, you managed to find me pretty quickly and accurately. It's only a matter of time until you find Yulianna.

About the Aphelion... it was pretty underwhelming if I'm honest. Aside from someone trying to kill me with nikontia, it was a pretty calm event. I'm excited to see the Perihelion when it comes, however.

I played Galeian Armory the other day. It's a very fun game, but the rules are a bit obtuse and excessive. I will do my best to beat the absolute living shit out of you, though!

Also, I came across a Faeton Elf by the name Elena Pazh'Khun who has Halven items and a proof of ownership from Yulianna. She was under mind control and lost two thousand years worth of memories due to my actions. She's now under my care and I intend to visit Danuva and see if a Goddess can help Elena recover her memories. I might have a more solid idea of where Yulianna could be, or will be, when that happens. I hope she accepts my request. If not, I plan on asking Miraztor. If you have any suggestions, please do tell. I will attach a drawing of Elena in case you've seen her before.

You come off as a very fun person, Nilenna. Meeting you will definitely be fun.

Regards,

Natasha Novak.'

I gave the letter a few revisions and was satisfied with the result. I had never written a letter before. Work-related e-mails were common when I lived on Earth, but those were insipid at best.

Next was a letter to Miraztor.

'Miraztor,

Thank you for writing me. I hope you're doing well.

I write to ask about your experience with the group that tried to kill you in Lumin Kingdom a thousand years ago. If you have any information that could be of use, I would deeply appreciate it.

Hoping we meet in the future,

Natasha Novak.'

It felt shallow, but I didn't know much about him to write anything of substance. Hopefully that would change in the near future.

I stored the papers and drew both the Demon and Elena.

Lapia walked over and sat next to me. “Finished?” She inquired, leaning her head on my shoulder.

“Yeah,” I nodded and hugged her. “How about we go to get the diamonds cut?” I added with a playful tone.

She gave me a sultry smile and chuckled, “You bet!”