[Blood Contract established with High Mountain Dwarf Andvari. You have now recognized him as a member of your Unkindness.]

[Recognition as a member of your Unkindness has granted High Mountain Dwarf Andvari the Right of Kin.]

[Title Obtained: Progenitor]

[Title: Progenitor: Increases the charm of your appearance. Your name will now be recorded in the Book of Lines. ]

After drinking my blood, the dwarf makes a face as if he'd sucked on a lemon.

Welp, at least the Blood Contract worked. Hopefully, it allowed me to communicate with the dwarf now.

Hello?

Blinking his cloudy eyes, the dwarf crouches and sets me down on the ground before him. As a bird, I was no match for his height.

Greetings, Lady.

Alright! Thought Transmission was working with him now!!!

Wiggling at the success, I take baby steps backwards so I can look up at the dwarf more clearly. His long, matted beard made it hard to read his expression. My excitement makes me move a little too quickly, and I feel fresh blood spill out of my shoulder.

Bringing a thick thumb to his lips, he presses the pad of his thumb against his lips and then points back out in my direction, palm out.

I return the thumb-greeting with a short bob of my head. He was blind, so it should be okay? It was rude not to return the gesture, but my bared injury was hurting again.

I thank you for taking me as kin.

Errmm...yes.

......

My talons dig up more grass as I shift my weight from one foot to another.

He seemed to be waiting for another response from me. Too bad I wasn't able to answer his expectations, creating an awkward silence that stretched out between us.

.....What's your name?

I knew his name already from the status, but the company worker inside of me was looking for a more structured conversation. Always begin with a good self-introduction, right?

Andvari, Lady.

I guess he gets a pass. His gruff manner was fitting for the image of dwarfs I had in my mind, minus the blind part.

Andvari the dwarf. I couldn't help feeling a little giddy at the notion of meeting a real-life fantasy being, even if he looked worse than a street beggar. He pats the ground again, till he finds me, and begins making minute adjustments on the splint he'd made for me..

This was a little awkward. The dwarf wasn't exactly the warm and welcoming type. And I didn't even know where to begin the conversation.

So...what does it mean to be kin, Andvari?

His bushy eyebrows lower at the question.

Simply put, Lady, it made us into a clan. A family.

Did that mean? I tentatively test the invisible thread that tied Greenie and I together. There was another thread drawn out of me now, one that connected me to the dwarf. It was thicker than the one Greenie and I had!

The dwarf, Andvari, stares off above my head as his fingers continue to work on my splint, molding the soft metal here and there to fit more closely to my wing.

I didn't know how I felt about the connection. I could already predict poor Greenie's reaction when he finds out he was a pet while a dwarf that had tried to kill us in the beginning was now my-,  my- son?

No, that can't be right.

My head feels a bit heavy all of a sudden. This was too much to handle. I was what, born about a month, two months ago, and now I was going to be a mother? I was too young to be a mother!!

The question was difficult to ask, but it had to be done.

If the Blood Contract made us into a family, what does that make me? A mo-

Andvari was quick to shake his head before I finished the sentence. Which was totally great with me!

No. I myself am not well aware of the workings of a Blood Contract. I've only read of it in my clan-
And then he cuts himself off, the link that tied us together and shared our emotions suddenly dimming.

Interesting. I cock my head up at him. I didn't know you could dim the connection.

Reaching up to rub rub at the scars around his eyes, Andvari clams up and goes back to adjusting. I don't think he was even adjusting the splint anymore. His fingers were only tracing the lines of the metal he'd bent into place now.

He was hiding something. But I didn't have the room to think about it right now, so I'll let it slide.. For now.

Thinking back, the notifications said something about a Progenitor, but I wasn't sure what that meant. And that Book of Lines sounded pretty ominous.... Glancing back up at Andvari, it didn't seem like he would give me the answers I wanted anytime soon. That was fine. I would get it sooner or later.

In the meantime, I might as well try and appraise him again.
Would it work this time?

Appraisal!

Ding~!

It worked!

Before I could look through Andvari's status, Greenie was back, cupping globs of wet clay in his hands.

Master!

The return of Greenie and the Minotaur makes me breathe out a sigh in relief. The sooner we could get out of here, the better. There was no time to be playing detective with Andvari just yet.

I could still feel that presence? presences? watching us from the other side of the lake. Looks like there was not time for pleasantries anyways. They seemed to be circling the bushes and stealthily drawing closer, ringing the edges of the lake.

Lady, the Blood Contract?

The Minotaur nods as he listens to Andvari, who gruffly speaks to him. Getting down in a kneeling position, he stares at me with eyes that seem to glow with hope.

Yes, let's get to it.

Greenie senses my urgency, obeying when I ask him to hold me above the Minotaur's head. The Minotaur was quite flexible, leaning back on his knees so that Greenie would have an easier time putting me right above his mouth.

This was one of those times I was glad cows were herbivorous. Seeing the open mouth containing a row of large teeth similar to a human was unsettling. A small thought niggles at the corner of my mind. That old legend about the Minotaur...

Andvari, would you mind asking the Minotaur if he likes to eat meat?

Lady, it is common knowledge that Minotaurs subsist upon plant life.

I breathe out a sigh in relief. Phew! That was good.

But then I catch Andvari's last part of the sentence.

...Recently

What!

Please don't drop me, Greenie.

Bringing me back to his bosom, Greenie presses a dirty cheek to my head..

Greenie not drop Master!

My life is in your hands Greenie.

Carefully, he holds me out again over the kneeling Minotaur's head.

Since my wound was still leaking blood, it was easy enough to let a few droplets fall into the Minotaur's open mouth.

[Blood Contract established with Tarsuen Minotaur Crixus. You have now recognized him as a member of your Unkindness.]

[Recognition as a member of your Unkindness has granted Tarsuen Minotaur Crixus the Right of Kin.]

I peer up at the tall Minotaur as Greenie gently sets me back down on the ground.

Hello, Crixus.

The Minotaur whuffs back, giving me the bull-version of a grin.

Greetings, Esteemed Lady.

Slop!

Greenie begins to slather my body with clay that he'd set aside on a few large clean leaves.