The Chained Watcher

Rooftops

They nod, slowly at first, but then with growing eagerness. "Yeah, mom says I'm great at keeping secrets!" Good to see they're not dwelling too much on the fall right now, though they'll probably have a fear of heights in the future.

Ruffling the kid's hair again, he says, "I bet you are," with a big grin. Kids don't usually know enough to know when something is stranger than normal, and he finds their lack of distrust refreshing. If this was an adult, or even just a teen, there would be questions about his motives and whether or not he was going to demand something for his help, but a kid doesn't dwell on those things.

Faint voices reach his ears, and he closes his eyes briefly to focus on sensing the clusters of emotions. A heavy group filled with worry is starting to head this way, though he should have a couple minutes before they reach his tree.

Moving one wing slightly to brush the kid's cheek with the feathers, he made sure they were paying attention before speaking. "I can't stay when other people come, but do you want to be on the ground first?"

Their calm faltered, and they looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Do you have to go?" Nope, not falling for it. Scar already got an entire dog using that trick, he's not giving in again any time soon.

"Yeah, if I don't then they'll see my wings. They wouldn't be very secret if that happened, now would they." They pout, so he boops their nose again. "Do you want to stay sitting in the tree, or do you want me to bring you down?"

"...Down."

"Okay, hold on."

He lets them koala onto him again before unwrapping his wings, noting how their grip tightened the moment he did. Yeah, the poor kid will probably never be able to handle standing near the edge of a roof again, but hopefully stairs won't be a problem.

Making sure they're not going to fall, he hops off, letting his wings catch as much air as they can to keep their falling speed low. His feet touch down softly, and he wraps his wings back around the kid for a couple seconds to help them calm down again. They had started breathing faster when in the air, so taking a moment to make sure they're okay is a good idea.

Once they've calmed down again, he crouches and guides their feet to the ground, noting how they seem a bit shaky standing up. Giving them a smile, he ruffles their hair again. "Remember, you're the best at keeping secrets, right?" He doesn't actually expect the kid to stay quiet about him, but the longer they don't say anything the less likely anyone is to take their claims seriously.

They thump a fist on their chest, trying to project confidence, and declare, "Yeah! I won't tell nobody!"

Nodding solemnly, Grian jumped up and swung himself onto a low branch, perching for a moment before informing the kid of the approaching search party. "Hey, the adults from the party are almost here. If you listen carefully, you can probably hear them."

The kid tilts their head to the side for a moment, listening, before their eyes light up. "I can hear them!" They look like they want to run off in the direction of the voices, but then they hesitate. "Should... should I go?"

"Hmm, you can if you want, but you can also wait here and call out to them if that would be easier. Some of these bushes might have thorns, after all."

He really does need to use his potion before they reach here though. The kid seems content to wait for the adults to arrive, going as far as to sit below the tree he's perched in, so if he doesn't want to be spotted he can't be visible.

Chugging the potion, he stows the empty bottle back in his inventory and waits out the last thirty seconds before the search party reaches the tree. Scratch that, twenty seconds. The kid called out, "Mom?" and the woman who's presumably their mother snapped her head towards the voice and beelined through the bushes and underbrush to reach her child.