"Okay!" he said.
I slightly raised a brow at his reaction. I guess being snapped at by a mouse didn't bother him after all. Either that or he took my apology well.
Ugh, why was I wasting so much time psychoanalyzing this harpy?
"Mistral… Where do I start with him?" Cloud mused out loud, putting his talon-covered hands on his hips. "How much do you know about the spirits, Meeko?"
I tried not to shiver at the way he said my name. It was terrifying to hear it uttered by harpy. That was definitely the only reason my body reacted instinctively that way.
"Spirits?" I echoed.
The word dug up an old memory buried deep in my psyche. I vaguely recalled my dads mentioning something about spirits when teaching me about the sword, but it was a long time ago. It must not have been very interesting considering I barely remembered it.
Not wanting to admit my lack of knowledge, I shrugged in response to Cloud's question.
"Well, the spirits are these mega powerful shifter-but-not-really type creatures who are immortal and have magic and all this other crazy stuff," Cloud explained.
My brows rose higher.
"I know it sounds wild if you've never met one of them, but I swear it's true," Cloud said. He blinked. "Wait a second! You have met one. Mistral is the spirit of air."
I stared at him blankly. "You're saying the thief who stole my sword is an all-powerful spirit of air?"
Cloud grimaced like he was embarrassed on Mistral's behalf. "Yeah, I guess so."
"If he’s so powerful, why does he need my sword?"
"I don't know."
Irritation flashed through me again. "What do you mean, you don't know? You're both harpies and you clearly know each other."
Cloud snorted. He crossed his arms with a sly grin. "Do you know every single mouse shifter in the world? Why do any of them do the things they do?"
I narrowed my eyes. I understood the point he was trying to make, but it didn't work on me. "I don't know any other mouse shifters except my dads."
That surprised Cloud. "Wait, you don't?"
"No."
"Are you… afraid of them or something?"
"What?" I sputtered. "No. That's ridiculous."
Cloud examined me and looked for a second like he wanted to say something but then thought better of it. "So you're just a loner?"
My tail twitched with annoyance. I didn't need anyone labelling me, much less some random alpha harpy who fell out of the sky. "No," I stated, hoping to put an end to this conversation. "Enough about me. Tell me more about Mistral."
"Uh, right… Anyway, as spirits go, Mistral's always been kind of squirrelly." Cloud paused, his cheeks flushing a tinge darker. "Sorry, that's not offensive, is it?"
I blew out an impatient breath. "Why would it be offensive? I'm a mouse, not a squirrel." To illustrate my point, I grabbed my naked tail and waved it around.
Cloud smiled, his gaze following the arc like a kitten enthralled by a cattail in the breeze. "True."
"What do you mean, Mistral's squirrelly? What does that mean?"
"He's kinda paranoid. Always looking over her shoulder, thinking people are out to get him, that sort of thing."
I snorted. If Mistral went around stealing from everyone, no wonder he was paranoid. He’d already made an enemy out of me and I wasn't the type to let it go. "Suits a thief, doesn't it?"
