Unrecognizable

~Chapter Twenty-Four~

Present day

Scar's POV-

The morning sun shone through the clouds illuminating everything it could touch. A breeze swept through, bringing October coolness, and the phantoms retreated to... wherever they go when they aren't terrorizing people. It was another day, and quite an important one at that.

Scar, who had gotten hardly any sleep the prior night, dug through his chest, pulling out various supplies-- food and rockets, to name a few. After a moment's contemplation, he grabbed another elytra out of the chest as well. It was never a bad idea to bring an extra one-- or two-- just in case. He less-than-carefully shoved these into his inventorial pouch before turning to Bee, who perched at the edge of a jukebox. The strangest thing was going on, though. While the melody of Cat was being emitted and the jukebox vibrated, jostling Bee a bit, the bird neglected to dance at all. Not even to humor Scar. 

"Aren't you... supposed to dance?" He had asked when he first noticed. "That's kinda... a thing. What, is dancing below you?" 

"Definitely not. I don't do that," she had responded with a chuckle. "Not being naturally created, I don't have to abide by what all the other parrots are supposed to do." 

Well fine then. Grian would've been disappointed to know that. Thinking of the Hermit, Scar hadn't seen him since the events of a few days prior. He had left without a word, and hadn't been out and about since. He was mildly worried, but decided it'd be best to leave him be, at least for now. After all, the wizard was busy too.

Blinking himself out of his mind, he focused on the task at hand. "And you're sure this is the right time?" Scar questioned the cockatiel. "I doubt we'll have another chance after this."

Bee nodded, fluttering a bit where she stood. "Yes- yes I'm sure. Quite sure," she answered quickly, stumbling over her words. The bird quickly pecked at a few of her feathers, which had become unorderly in her fidgeting.

"You nervous?" Scar grinned, though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. He paused for a moment, before continuing, with a slightly darker tone than before. "Well, I am, a bit, too. If this doesn't work, Sage will probably change everything up, or worse." He quickly returned to his cheery self, however. If Bee was going to be the serious one, then he had to keep his spirits high to make up for her. That shouldn't be all that hard. "But we don't have to worry about that. We've gotten as prepared as we can; this should be a breeze!"

Making a noise that almost sounded like chuckling at Scar's pep talk, Bee agreed. "Right. We've got this." She was clearly attempting to muster some confidence. Shaking out her feathers, she added, "Are you almost ready to go?" She now had a slightly urgent tone, so that it sounded less like a question and more like telling him to finish up.

Scar stood up, closing up his pouch. He hesitated for a moment, glancing down at the chest, then quickly crouched back down, grabbed another handful of rockets, stuck them in his pouch, and stood back up again with a grin. "I am now!" But as he was about to leave the room, he hesitated. The wizard had just had a thought. "Hang on, I should grab a crystal or two. I don't have any potions, s-" 

But Bee stopped him. "Admin magic doesn't work down there, remember? Your crystals are, no offense, useless." Oh. Yeah. Now that Scar had these crystals and was used to their benefits, he felt awfully handicapped without them. He practically wore his yellow sight crystal around his neck at all times, except when it was raining, and at those times he felt almost blind. This was clearly not going to be as convenient as he had hoped.

Why couldn't un-kidnapping people be more simple?

"Right," the wizard confirmed. "Then I guess we're all set. Let's go get Mumbo!" He flashed her a thumbs up before turning away to get his elytra activated. He shielded his eyes from the sun, and caught Bee out of the corner of his peripheral vision. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, shifting uncomfortably, before she flew up beside him as he left the building. Poor bird must be nervous, especially after last time.