The mouse blinked at me warily. Some of the rage diffused out of his black eyes and his breathing slowed.
"You're different," the mouse mumbled, almost sounding disappointed.
"Different?"
He growled. His disappointment morphed into irritation, but it didn't seem directed at me. He put a paw to his temple as he shook his head. "Shit. I was careless..."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
He whipped his tiny head in my direction with a stern glare. "You're not the same harpy who stole my sword."
3
Meeko
What a messI'd gotten myself into.
This was a disaster. My precious sword was gone, stolen by an abomination of nature, and now a second one showed up out of nowhere playing dumb.
Or maybe hewasdumb. I didn't know yet.
And I didn't care to find out. If he wasn't the one who stole my sword, he was useless to me. If you wanted anything done right, you had to do it yourself. I'd track down the thief on my own.
And then what, Meeko? Fight him like you did the first time?
My fur bristled in annoyance. That asshole was so smug, acting like he was better than me. Who did he think he was? I'd show him. I'd show everyone.
"Not the same harpy? What do you mean?"
I huffed. Right. The second harpy was still here and I had to deal with him.
But I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. I'd underestimated the first one, but it wasn't happening again. I kept my distance and held my weapon close to my chest. It wasn't my sword, but the branch would have to do for now.
"What's there to be confused about?" I retorted. "A harpy stole my sword. At first I thought you were the same harpy, but..."
My gaze roamed over this idiotic interloper. Admittedly, he wasn't hard on the eyes. If I had to guess from his appearance, the broad shoulders and well-muscled physique of his body screamedalpha. His dark skin contrasted pleasantly with his cream-colored feathers and the golden bird scales coating his forearms.
But it was what lurked at the ends of his hands that alerted my survival instinct. Huge, curved, gleaming black talons that were easily two mouse-lengths long.
A single swipe from those and I'd be dead.
And that wasn't happening.
The bird-man scratched his head. I had no clue how he managed to do that with knives for nails and not stab himself in the skull.
"Wait, I'm confused," he said. "A harpy stole your sword?"
My whiskers twitched impatiently. "Yes."
He furrowed his brow. "Why?"
"How the hell should I know?" I snapped. "He didn't mention the reason when he wasstealingfrom me!"
Maybe this guy really was stupid. Why else would it take him so long to understand such a simple chain of events?
The dark-skinned harpy frowned as if deep in thought. "That other harpy. Did he have blue hair?"
That took me off guard.
