Research

“Ugh…! Jackal, I’m about to die.”

Worldling slumped forward in his seat. His head landed with a thud against the library table, and he let his arms dangle at his sides. He and Jackal had been there all damn day, just reading about stupid birds, and not really learning anything of note.

“You’re literally reading a light novel,” Jackal retorted, without looking up. “Suck it up.”

Worldling let out a long, exaggerated groan. He did not care about stupid birds, anymore. He hoped whatever bird that had left that feather near Misty died in a fire.

“C’mon, man! You can’t even pretend like you’re helping me, anymore?” She flicked her gaze toward him. “Fuck, how old are you?”

“Mind your business.”

Jackal sighed. “Do you have a better idea than this?”

“We could slam our dicks in a doorway. Would probably be just as helpful.”

“It’d be more helpful than your shit attitude.” She sighed. “Don’t make me play the nerd, here. If you don’t have another suggestion, I’m going to keep reading.”

“If we keep reading, my brain is literally going to melt out of my ears. Let’s take a break.”

He had a point– it wasn’t as though they’d made any real progress towards discovering what that feather was. Jackal let out a long exhale.

“Fine. What do you want to do?” she asked.

Worldling turned his head up, gazing up at her with a smirk. “We’re in a… pretty quiet corner of the library. We could-”

“Not interested.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Mm, fine.” Worldling sat up. “Ugh, wish my one friend was here. Sirronar kind of knew everything, but like… emphasis on the kind of.”

“Mm,” Jackal nodded. “Kind of like you.”

“Oh, I don’t know everything,” Worldling replied with a laugh. “I’m not really all that smart. Well-traveled? Sure. But I definitely do not know everything. Also, Sirronar lied, like, constantly.”

“Kind of like you,” Jackal repeated.

“What?” Worldling frowned. “What are you talking about? I don’t lie.”

“Sure, you don’t.” Jackal rolled her eyes. “Not about your quote-unquote demon friends.”

“Uh… I was friends with a bunch of demons,” Worldling said. “That’s very much a thing that was real. And they were all shit, too-- even all the people I'm about to talk about in this story. You can ask Abby, if you want.”

“Your littermate?”

Worldling frowned. “Yeah? What of it?”

“Wouldn’t she just tell me what you’re saying?”

“Yeah, probably, because I’m not lying.” He shook his head. “Anyway, anyway. Sirronar always had an answer to every question. I bet she’d know what the feather is.”

“So text her,” Jackal said.

“I don’t talk to her anymore.” Worldling’s tone was serious, but he lightened up as he continued. “But, like, anyways– for a hot minute, she was dating some asshole. Like, all demons are assholes, but this guy was- well, you know- just the worst.”

“Uh huh,” Jackal said, not really paying attention.

“He was always just, like, mean to everyone for no reason? I dunno, made fun of Donnor for being too skinny, made fun of Lellone for having weird legs- it was just not super nice. He came after my intelligence– and not, like, you’re an idiot, you know? He, like, babytalked to me. Like, oh you’re a cute little bunny thing, aren’t you? Like, shut up, dude, I’m an adult.”

“Right…” Jackal peered down at her book. She wondered if she could just let Worldling ramble while she actually got a bit more reading done… would he notice?

“And he was always sooo edgy, too.” He rolled his eyes. “He, like, kept bragging about how he got kicked out of his old home. And he was, like, definitely super proud about it, but also super sensitive about it, too? Like, Lellone made an offhand comment about it, and this guy just rips them a new one about it. How dare you make light of my trauma, a-blah-blah-blah. You know?”

“Yeah, sure.” Jackal could not concentrate with him speaking so closely to her, so she resigned herself to… the best emulation of paying attention that she could muster.

“Anyways, all this to say was that he actually had feathers,” Worldling said. “He had these two, ugly-ass, torn-to-shreds wings that didn’t work, anymore. And he shed these ink-black feathers everywhere he went.”

“Really?” Jackal frowned. So this story actually was relevant. “Do you think that feather belonged to a demon, then?”

“Probably not,” Worldling shrugged. “I mean, could be. But, like, those feathers, even after falling off of him, still had this weird evil energy about them. I don’t know how to describe it– it’s like, they kind of seemed to share his... malice. And our feather is as benign as any rock or strand of hair.”

“So what was your point?”

Worldling paused, thinking back. “Good… question… oh! I was talking about Sirronar. I bet Sirronar would know what bird this is from. If only she hadn’t turned out to suck so much.”

“Does she suck half as much as you?” Jackal joked.

“What? Oh- that’s a sex joke. Funny.” Worldling let a bemused smile cross his face. “Anyways, what’ve you learned?”

“Fuckin’ nothing,” Jackal answered. “I think this was a… con…tour feather, so it, like… goes on the outside? Like, not a down feather. Basically, the bird’s probably white.”

“Well, that’s not nothing!” Worldling exclaimed. “Now we know to look for a white bird!”

“Yeah, but birds are all sorts of shapes and sizes. We have no idea what we’re really dealing with. This book talks about a huge bird, like outta some fuckin’ horror story– it’s just pure evil. It’s called a goose.”

“A goose? That is… maybe the least threatening name I’ve ever heard.”

“Look.” Jackal turned her book toward Worldling.

The book depicted a creature with a disheveled-looking body. It had its wings positioned upwards– not fully extended, but enough so that one could tell it had a mighty wingspan. Its legs were long and skinny, devoid of any plumage, and they bent at weird angles. The neck was long and skinny, and coloured in black. Its beak was open, revealing two rows of long, straight, white teeth.

“Gross,” Worldling said. He perused the text a bit further. “Well, good news is that geese don’t really seem to come in white.”

“Yeah, but it could be an albino goose.”

“That’s your theory?” Worldling asked, eyebrow raised. “An albino goose?”

“Look– we can’t rule out the possibility.”

“Chances are, it’s probably some dumb little songbird. Like, the new avia imp that just started appearing? We should probably look for a bird that looks like it.”

“Oh, true.” Jackal nodded her head slowly. “Y’know, you’re not as dumb as everyone says you are.”

“Oh, please– I’m barely literate,” Worldling laughed. “You wanna get going? Maybe we could do some actual real work.” He checked his phone. “Or, well, it’s four– kinda late, don’t you think? Maybe we can just pick this up tomorrow.”

“Shit- it’s four? I told Misty I’d be home an hour ago.” Jackal scrambled to her feet.

“They’ll be fine,” Worldling said, waving his hand. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“I don't fuckin' know-- could be anything.” Jackal abandoned her book, leaving it open on the table. “I’ve gotta go.”

“See you tomorrow!” Worldling waved. As Jackal left, he called, “I’ll text you where to meet!”