Monster Month: Halloween MCYT Oneshots

Day 6- Misidentified Species

 This one is connected to 1, 3, 11, 14, 17, and 31, so it's modern au again. It's 1113 words long because apparently the idea managed to keep my attention long enough for that. Warning for injured animal and incredibly awkward dialogue. E n j o y.

"Not again..." Gem muttered, as she read the text message saying that she couldn't get a ride home from martial arts. She was going to have to walk home, alone, in the dark. Again. She still had the bandage on her neck from last time!

Sighing, she picked up her bag and her water bottle, and left the building. She walked quickly, hoping to have a safe, normal, travel home. As she passed by the park, she noticed a dark shape lying on the sidewalk. As she got closer, she saw that it had black feathers. It was a raven. What was a raven doing on a city sidewalk?

As Gem walked up to it, the raven cawed weakly, jumping onto its feet. It flapped one wing, holding the other close to its body.

"Aw, little buddy," Gem murmured, crouching down next to the bird. "Are you hurt? Can I see?" Since she'd worked, awhile ago, as a veterinary assistant, Gem was confident that she knew what to do. She slowly reached her hand out to the raven, which squawked softly. Gem waited a short time, to show that she didn't mean any harm. Then, she lifted up the raven, placing it on her lap. Gently, she extended its hurt wing, feeling along the bones for a break. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any fracture, however, the bird flinched when she moved its shoulder. "It's okay, little guy. Looks like you've got a dislocated shoulder."

Gem stroked the raven's head, trying to calm it down. Its feathers were surprisingly soft, for a seemingly wild animal. Maybe it was a lost pet? She decided to take the bird back to her house for the night. She could put its shoulder back into place, and ice it if the raven didn't get too upset with her. Then, in the morning, she could post online, to ask if anyone had lost a pet raven.

Gem stood up, cradling the raven in her arms. She continued walking home, still stroking the raven's feathers. Once she got home, she sat down on the couch. "Okay, bud. This is gonna hurt a little, but you'll feel a lot better later." She took hold of the bird's wing, and used her other hand to stabilise its shoulders. With a firm push, she was able to get the bone back into the proper socket. The raven reacted with a loud squawk, and wild flapping from its other wing.

"Okay, it's done! You're fine, you're fine!" Gem reassured the bird, petting its back. The raven, cautiously, flapped its no-longer-dislocated wing, then made an offended caw. "Well, it's not like you're not going to be sore," Gem told it. As if the bird could understand her. "Wait here." Gem set the raven onto the couch beside her, wrapping a blanket loosely around it, before getting up to retrieve an ice pack.

Once Gem got back, with the ice pack, she saw that the raven did, in fact, wait there. She sat down next to it, and placed the ice pack onto the bird's shoulder. The raven looked at her as if she'd called it a mean name. "Don't look all offended, that's going to make it less sore!" Gem informed the raven.

After around fifteen minutes, during which time she had to unceremoniously shoo away her curious cats, Gandalf and Goose, Gem removed the ice pack. "Alright, little guy, let's set you up a spot to sleep- oh, and you should probably eat something, too."

A quick trip to the kitchen later, Gem placed a dish with chopped-up ham and strawberries in front of the raven, who looked at her quizzically. "You're an omnivore, sir. You should want to eat at least one of these things, if not both," Gem told the raven. The raven... did the raven shrug? The raven did an odd motion, before beginning to eat the food.

While the bird ate, Gem set up a spot for it to sleep. Basically, a cardboard box with several blankets. She put the box in her bedroom, so she could check on the raven if it awoke in the night.

Once she got back to the living room, Gem saw that the raven had finished its food. She carefully picked up the bird, and brought it to the cardboard box. Placing it in, she told it, "This is where you can sleep. Hopefully it's nice and cosy for you, so you can be nice and rested." The raven did seem pleased with its bedding, snuggling into the blankets immediately.

Soon afterwards, Gem went to bed herself. She slept through the whole night, and seemingly, so did the raven. Once she got out of bed, and checked on the raven, Gem found it sitting calmly awake in the box. "Good morning," She greeted the bird. "I hope you slept well." The raven cawed, sounding almost cordial.

The raven hopped out of the box, climbing up Gem's arm to perch on her shoulder. It used its foot to poke at the large band-aid on Gem's neck, making an inquisitive squawk.

"Oh, uh, you don't need to be worried about that. It's no big deal, really." The bird cawed insistently. "Fine, fine. I got a little bit drank from by a vampire. But I'm perfectly fine!"

Appearing incredibly startled, the raven jumped to the floor, gliding down with its uninjured wing. It looked around the room, for what, Gem had no clue. The bird tilted its head, as if considering something. Then, it did something distinctly unbirdlike. The raven transformed into a human.

The man who was no longer a raven was tall and pale, with dark hair and a tidy moustache. He was sharply dressed in a suit. He shifted around on his feet, as he was clearly feeling the awkwardness of the situation.

Gem sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Why am I not even surprised?"

"Er... what?"

"The previous two times I've had to walk home in the dark by myself, I encountered some kind of supernatural creature. So why should yesterday be any different? I had thought it was, but it wasn't."

"Hold on- you picked up a raven off the sidewalk, and didn't  immediately expect it to be supernatural? After getting bitten by a vampire seemingly pretty recently?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound kind of silly. Anyway, hi. I'm Gem." Gem extended her hand for a handshake.

The man briefly and politely shook Gem's hand. "My name is Mumbo. Uh, if you haven't guessed, I'm a shapeshifter. I kind of flew into a tree, and... yeah."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."