~
Morri stuck by me all day every day, and let me pet him absentmindedly as I did my homework in my room in the evenings. I was becoming very fond of the bird, and unfortunately had taken to talking to him. He didn’t understand much, except for his name and words like ‘food’ or ‘bread’ or ‘bad’. I only had to use ‘bad’ when he annoyed me so much that I kept crossing out sentences, driven to distraction by his antics. When I told him ‘bad’ then, he flew off and perched on my statue of Queen Fleur, watching me with his little yellow eyes, until I’d cave and hold my arm out to him.
I was becoming a common sight around the Academy with my bird on my shoulder and my satchel bag slung over the other. Everything was peachy until one day when I saw Netalia – though we rarely saw her walking the halls - approaching from the other end of the corridor.
I quickly picked Morri up and Dena pointed towards my bag.
“I’m so sorry,” I said to the bird, and put him in my bag, latching the buckle before he could fly out.
“Good afternoon,” Netalia said as she drew closer. “I trust you’re all studying hard?”
We nodded in unison just as Morri began peeping angrily to be let out.
“Goodness, what is that whistling noise?” Netalia asked, looking around for the source.
“Sorry,” Ispin piped up from the back. “It’s me. I’ve got a bit of a cold.”
He made a whistling noise with his breathing, very similar to the one Morri was making. Netalia looked at us all a bit funny, and we all plastered on the same bad poker face.
“Alright,” she said finally. “I hope you get better soon,” she said to Ispin, and then breezed past us.
When she rounded the corner, I broke into a run to reach the end of the corridor. Once I’d made it there, I opened my bag and Morri leapt out, taking off and flying around us, making a terrible screeching noise as he did so.
“Bad!” I commanded finally, and he quietened down, floating back onto my shoulder where he crawled under my ponytail in shame.
Though we all laughed about it later, I realised just how dangerous it was to be walking around with Morri on my shoulder, though I didn’t know why Netalia and Iain would care. I left him in my room from then on, and the bird’s absence was noticeably saddening.
Soul Fire Page 37