"Mistral?" I called. Unlike him, I was careful not to get my wings caught in the branches but that slowed my descent. "Hellooo!"
More crashing sounds. Where was that coming from? As I scanned the greenery, a stick nearly poked my eye out.
"Ow."
The leaves thinned out as I got past the canopy. I flexed the talons on my feet, using them to grip branches on the way down, feeling more like a monkey than a harpy. I was relieved to touch down on the cool soil, but there was still no sign of Mistral.
"Mistral?" I called again to no reply. I hoped he wasn't tangled in a vine or something. Then again, he was pretty adamant about being a powerful spirit who didn't need a mortal's help anyway. "Guess he's fine..."
Just as I was readying myself to take flight again, a stick nearly poked my eye out. Again.
Except this wasn't a stick attached to an immobile tree. This was a stick wielded by a screaming mouse.
The tiny creature ran at me with a roar that would've been terrifying if the mouse wasn't the size of my palm. And it wasn't really aroarbut a furious high-pitched squeak.
The mouse started whacking my face with the stick.
"Ow! What the hell?" I asked.
I sidestepped away from the crazy rodent, but it followed me. It darted across the branch above my head on four legs, then stood up and swung the stick wildly. The twigs and leaves smacked me in the face before I raised my talons to shield myself. Being hit with a stick didn't exactly hurt but I was extremely confused, to say the least.
"Um?" I said, flabbergasted. "Can I help you?"
"No!" the mouse snapped.
I didn't know why, but he sounded pissed. What reason did a mouse shifter have to be so angry? Didn't they just scurry around and collect acorns?
The mouse's chest heaved as he fought for breath. He stood on his hind legs as he prepared the next strike, his beady black eyes blazing with fury.
No way. I was a nice guy, but that didn't mean I had to stand here and let a pipsqueak beat the crap out of me with a twig.
"I don't think so," I said, pinching the makeshift weapon between my talons before the mouse could strike.
The mouse's eyes widened. Having his weapon seized only made him angrier.
"Let go, you freak of nature!" he snarled.
Ever beensnarledat by a mouse? Yeah, me neither until then.
I raised a brow. "Freak of nature? That's not a nice thing to say."
The mouse wasn't hearing it. He yanked and pulled the twig with all his might, fighting desperately to get it back from me. Who was this mouse? Why was he so pissed off?
And what didIhave to do with anything?
I pulled the twig further out of his grip but he wasn't letting go. His tiny body lifted a few inches off the branch before I paused, realizing he'd hold onto that thing for dear life. I sighed and put him back down. The mouse triumphantly jerked the twig out from between my talons and brandished it like a sword.
I had to admit, as weird as the whole situation was, there's something innately cute about an angry mouse.
"Don't mess with me, asshole," the mouse warned.
Okay, never mind, he wasn't cute anymore.
"Mess with you?" I sputtered. "I was literally standing here minding my own business whenyouattackedme!"
The mouse opened his mouth to argue but then seemed to realize something. The prickly fur raised along his back slowly flattened and his whiskers stopped bristling as he relaxed.
Now that he wasn't actively trying to end my life, he was alittlecute again. The little guy would fit perfectly in my pocket, if I had one.
