The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 144 - The Early Bird Gets The... Flustered Wolf

Chapter 144: Chapter 144 - The Early Bird Gets The... Flustered Wolf

Listless mint eyes opened in the darkness. It was hours before dawn would paint the sky. Elua er Goltbred had once again not slept very well - even despite all of the relief that the moments with Qat had given her.

The illusionist felt restless in her spirit as much as her body. So just like yesterday morning, she began reaching for the fragment of her husband-wife inside of her. The connection felt *unusually* active for this hour. Her beloved was already awake.

But there was something else about it that forcefully drew her attention.

The reincarnator quickly slipped from her bed and onto her bare feet. She focused on the supposed ’distant’ connection of spiritual energy that was not so far away as it should be. Curiosity drove her to hurriedly extend her spiritual sense outwards, tracing Qat’s presence to... the kitchen of the Goltbred estate.

The brunette tilted her head and the naturally monotone voice was barely a whisper in the dark of her room.

"What could she be doing here... and there, so early?"

There was a determined focus radiating through their connection. While spiritual sense could be tricky to use for spatial awareness for most, Elua was very adept. The steady, careful movements of her husband-wife were joined with slight spikes of frustration followed by renewed effort.

Most importantly, in the room next to her Qat was a man she knew well enough to recognize his spirit. The understanding finally dawned and it hit her like a physical blow.

’Learning to cook. Learning to cook for me?’

Her spirit roiled with such intense ’affection’ and ’devotion’ that she knew it would leak through their bond. It would probably wake the whole house! The surge of emotion threatened to overwhelm her carefully maintained control. She felt like she had to get away before-

’Hnng~!’

The ancient cultivator let out a small, unintelligible whimper as she took a few steps. It escaped her lips just as another wave of ’adoration’ crashed over her. Her fingers trembled on the pen as she hastily scribbled a note. While she had held it back from exploding completely... her ’fortress’ must have had the alarm bell rang!

/ Don’t chase after me - I’m fine! More than fine. You and your thoughtfulness are simply too much for my heart this morning. I just need a little time to myself and I’ll come back! /

She sent the piece of folded paper fluttering down the hallways with her Element to hopefully intercept her spouse, who had started her way to her room. A hand grabbed for her silver dress and a quick leap took the girl to her room window. She unlocked it without any struggle in the dark...

The heiress fled her own family estate before it was too late!

Another leap sent her sailing high into the dark morning of their courtyard as all her skills combined to land on the far roof. The cultivator jumped again off that same roof and rushed like an arrow in flight to the nearby forest...

A final pulse with uncontrollably possessive ’love’ rocked her the moment she felt far enough away to stop holding it back. A breeze slithered through the trees, shifting some of the fabric clenched tightly in her hand. She lucidly decided to start putting on her clothing instead of running naked into the night.

’Well... my choices are to go right back and explain myself... or take advantage of how unspecific I was about how long I needed in order to avoid that embarrassment as long as possible.’

No matter how much the reincarnator wanted to *go back*... to hug her Qat and maybe get a kiss or seventy - she had already planned yesterday evening to handle several matters today outside the house. Almost all of her plans lately seemed to go wild, for so many reasons.

’While I’m happy that she listened to such a ridiculous way of asking her not to follow...’

She could feel the ’exasperation’ through their connection, as well as sense that the tall girl had seemingly gone right back to the kitchen. After puffing out her cheek and blowing out the air, a ’sweet’ voice complained in the silence.

"She could have chased me a *little* more than that."

---

The scent of exotic incense wafted through the air as Elua approached a particularly hidden workshop. If she had come at the appropriate time, then their meeting could have happened in his residence.

Three quick taps, pause, two slow. Repeated twice. She rapped on the door with a pattern that she had been asked to memorize long ago in case she ever had need to visit at such an early hour.

"Enter, little snake."

A voice called from within at the same time as the sound of the latch being flipped. Elua slipped inside and closed the door before letting her eyes quickly adjust to the dim interior. Cages lined the walls and most were filled with an array of birds and small reptiles.

"Ah, the blushing bride returns. I hear that the ceremony went... smoothly?"

In the center, hunched over a workbench, sat the exiled elder of the Wing & Talon Enclave. The man asked his question without looking up from his task - and without sounding like he didn’t already know every detail.

"Yes. As smoothly as a viper’s scales."

Elua replied and her ’sweet’ smile failed to reach her eyes. She was still a little upset that her leads on the offending tree would need to involve other parties - but as happy as that day was there were too many things that came close to making it a bad one.

’I guess I should have been more careful what I wished for. I was a little bored for so long that they decided to stack all the interesting parts on a single day.’

"Your absence was unfortunate, old man."

He snorted at the chilliness in what were meant to be her words of flattery. He turned to face her.

"Yes, yes. I’m sure it was. Can’t have a known exile spoiling your *perfect* day, now can we?"

Despite his gruff morning demeanor and the bit of sarcasm he threw at her, there was a glimmer of something like pride in his aged eyes. After all, he had worked alongside enough folk to know when some words were true and some were false. The fact that this strange heiress wouldn’t have minded his showing up had been clear weeks ago.

"Well, don’t just stand there. Come, come. I have something for you."

He shuffled quite spritely to a covered cage in the corner. With a flourish that belied his age, he whisked away the cloth like he was revealing a work of art for the first time. Inside of a cage that had been underneath perched a bird Elua had not seen before.

Its feathers were a mix of soft purples and muted oranges with intricate patterns on the wings. Altogether it reminded her instantly of a twilight sky. Intelligent eyes regarded her with keen and unmistakable curiosity as it shifted its head with tiny bursts of movement.

"This... is a Whispering Skydancer. Rare as an honest black marketeer and twice as valuable. You make a fitting pair."

Elua approached the cage, forgetting her ploy of appearing calm and detached. Genuine appreciation for the creature flooded her face and voice.

"It’s... remarkable. But why?"

The old man’s lips rose at the corners. At one point in their acquaintance, he might have bet with himself that she would not react much. He was glad that he was wrong! Exiled or not, he was an elder of a Guild that adored these sorts of creatures... and seeing someone else that did was always pleasant.

"Consider it an investment. In your future... and perhaps in mine. These birds, they’ve got a knack for finding their way to places most can’t. Carrying messages that most shouldn’t hear."

He fixed her with a knowing look.

"I figure someone with your... mercantile talents might find that useful. Especially with how the winds are changing this year."

Elua nodded slowly. The unspoken implication of the Descent was obvious. No matter how well it went, the years after the war - while things were rebuilt - were often a shadowy merchant’s best friend.

"Thank you."

She said it softly, with ’warmth’ - and meaning it to him as a person and not a business contact. The elder waved a hand dismissively. It was nice to see that she liked it... but he was starting to grow uncomfortable with making a small girl sentimental at him.

"Just don’t get all dewy-eyed on me now. Our continued silent flight together is worth more money than one smart bird."

The man panicked a little when she let it out of the cage, but it hopped onto her hand and up her arm without any fuss. The brunette left with the Skydancer perched contentedly on her shoulder in the dark. She couldn’t help but smile, and frown, then smile again.

’What a wonderful morning already... but I ruined it some by fleeing the estate like that. Ah, but when I come back it will still be special~’