In the distance, Astel saw a small herd of animals grazing on the vibrant meadow. His stomach rumbled.
'I could eat a horse.'
The bird leaned down from his head, hanging by his long hair, its eyes widening in surprise.
'I wasn't aware your kind ate horses.'
Astel chuckled.
'We don't. They are sacred creatures that have helped us for thousands of years… At least I think that's why.'
'Then why say what you did?' The bird tilted its head.
'It's just something people say when they're hungry.'
The bird let go of his hair, falling into his lap.
'Are you perhaps hungry?'
Astel brushed the loose hair off his face.
'Am I that obvious?'
The bird paused for a moment.
'Why, yes of course.'
Astel shook his head.
'That was sarcasm, of course I'm fucking starving.'
'There aren't many berries left, I would have to venture further.'
With a tilt of his head, Astel pointed at the small herd of furry animals.
The bird laughed.
'Do you expect me to kill such beasts?'
Without answering, Astel kept pointing at the animals.
'…Fine.'
Hesitating for a moment, the bird flew toward them.
Finally alone, Astel focused on his mind and the flow of his energy. Carefully directing the flow, he inspected every corner of his body. He wasn't skilled enough yet to discover more intricate injuries, but at least he could spot major dangers to his life.
After a while, he noted to himself:
'Multiple broken or cracked ribs, torn muscles in my arms, and both of my legs are unusable. One more than the other.'
He yawned.
'That's just great.'
Leaning against the massive tree, the image of the basilisk's jaws closing around him flashed across his mind. His heart beat faster.
He quickly redirected his energy toward his mind, focusing it all toward the shadow notion. He could feel the cold embrace of the shadows covering his body as he searched for a place to appear at. Choosing a suitable shadow, he released the rest of his energy, hoping to open his eyes in a different place.
Nothing.
Once more, he was left with almost empty reserves, the notion remaining in his mind.
'What the hell is wrong with this thing?'
Suddenly, he heard soft footsteps approaching him.
He saw what looked like a deer with intricate, twisting horns rising from its head. Atop the horns sat a black and white bird, its red eyes showing a proud smile.
'Hop on, injured human. This steed promised to carry you to safety.'
Astel looked at the bird with a complicated expression.
'You cannot be serious.'
'Not to worry, he said he'd be gentle.'
The deer lowered its head to eat some grass, almost throwing the magpie off its head.
Astel stared at the deer for a few long moments before shrugging his shoulders and leaning toward the animal.
As he grabbed its rough fur, the deer suddenly jumped up. Clearly panicking, it threw its body around, trying to shake off Astel's hand.
'You should probably hold on,' the magpie said, trying its best not to fall.
'Is this how you imagine gentle?' Astel shouted, gripping the fur more firmly, his body repeatedly slammed against the ground.
Suddenly, the deer stopped frantically jumping. Instead, it took off running in a straight line, dragging Astel beside it.
'Are you trying to kill me?'
'No need to yell, I'd hear you even if you whispered,' the bird replied, its voice shaky and tired.
Astel waited for the moment the deer pushed itself off the ground and used the momentum to twist his body and grab its fur with his other hand. With a strong pull, he tried hoisting himself onto the animal's back.
The deer stumbled, almost losing its balance.
The sudden movement caused one of Astel's arms intense pain, making him lose his grip. Thankfully, the ground was mostly soft. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't survive being dragged like this in the state he was in.
Just as he thought that, the deer hopped over a small boulder.
Astel's head hit the stone with a loud thud.
His eyes began closing as his grip slowly loosened. A moment later, he let go of the sprinting deer, his body rolling on the soft grass before hitting another large stone.
'This is pretty fun, isn't it?' the bird asked, taking a deep breath atop the deer's horns, its feathers flailing in the wind.
It almost didn't notice there was no answer.
Quickly turning its head, the magpie noticed Astel was no longer being dragged.
'Uh oh.'
It opened its wings, letting the wind lift it up into the air with grace, leaving the deer running off.
Turning in the air, the magpie flew back, following the deer's tracks until it spotted a barely clothed young boy with long blonde hair lying beside a boulder.
It landed on the boulder beside him and waited for him to wake up.
The sun rose and fell as many days passed; the magpie didn't move a single step.
On the fifth day, the magpie grew hungry, yet it persisted, waiting on the lonesome boy.
On the seventh day, rain came, washing the boy of filth.
On the ninth day, Astel finally woke up.
He struggled to open his eyes. With soft breaths, he slowly rose into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his head.
'How long was I out?' he thought to himself.
'Today is the ninth day,' the magpie chirped, ecstatic that Astel was awake.
'I fell, right?'
The bird hopped from his head to his lap, nodding as it looked into Astel's eyes.
'I think so.'
Astel shook his head, grabbing it with one hand.
'Ouch.'
The bird tilted its head.
'Does your head hurt?'
Astel nodded slowly.
'Wait here,' it said as it flew away.
'It's not like I have a choice,' Astel mumbled under his breath while inspecting his body.
Moving his shoulder, he noted:
'My arm seems fine, most of the wounds also look to be closed.'
His gaze moved lower.
He stared at his lean body covered in scars; his muscles were well defined, but so were his bones.
The leaves on his side were somehow still attached, although they looked to be hanging by a thread.
'No point in leaving them, I guess.'
He untied his shirt and lifted the leaves, feeling them peel off his flesh.
He hissed as the leaves came off.
The large tear that was there just a few days ago was nowhere to be seen. Instead of a gaping hole, there was just a patch of flesh without skin.
'Incredible,' Astel thought, not wanting to touch the injury.
Astel's nose twitched, smelling a horrible stench.
His head twitched.
'Ew, what is that?'
He looked around, sniffing the air before lowering his head back toward his body.
'Is that… me?'
He immediately ripped out some grass from under him and plugged his nose.
'I need to take a bath. Immediately.'
His stomach growled.
Taking a deep breath through his mouth, he bent back down, his lower back screaming in pain.
One of his legs looked almost brand new, apart from a small bruise on the side.
The other, however…
Brushing over his other leg with his arm, he could feel the difference.
'Did the bird do this?'
The bone that was sticking out had been set back inside the leg, the wound almost fully closed. He could still feel a stinging pain whenever he tried to move it, but at least it gave him hope.
Hope that maybe he would get out of this place alive.