Feathers | Seokjin

Chapter 7 - Avisians

"Se-Sera?" Seokjin called her name, still astonished by the sight.

Isabella gulped.

"W-wait. I can explain." She said quickly, hands extended forward as a futile attempt to stop the human taking another step towards her. "I didn't mean to bother you-"

Seokjin's dreamy whisper cut her off, "that voice.. It's really you."

She blinked. "W-what?"

Seokjin smiled to himself. "You are her."

"Of course I am. I mean-" she quickly stopped her outburst, embarrassed of herself. She looked down, suddenly finding the wooden floor interesting. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"Well, I tricked you all this time and let you believe that I'm a normal random bird. I even ate so much of your grains." At that point she wished she could shrink herself into a little ball and hide.

Seokjin's soft chuckles made her look up. "Well I already knew you are anything but a 'normal random bird' my dear."

"You did?"

"Of course." He chuckled again. "Anyone who sees you will right away know that you are special."

Isabella looked down again, cheeks pink with blush. "But you never sold me.."

"You thought of me as a that kind of person?" Seokjin softly asked, obvious hurt visible in his voice.

"I-" Isabella looked down again. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologising. It's okay to be suspicious of a stranger." He said with a sigh.

"No. it's not okay. I actually.. Yesterday I understood. You could have handed me to those hunters. But you took me in and took care of me. Thank you for everything." She frankly said bringing a smile onto his lips.

"How can I not? You saved my life."

"It's not a big deal." Isabella muttered with a shy smile spreading through her soft pink lips.

"Of course it's a big deal! So how's your.. erm.. shoulder now?"

"Oh it's fine. I'll be better soon. I heal quickly." She waved off his concern.

"Hmm okay then." Seokjin said, "I suppose I should cook something for us. You are staying for the breakfast. Right? I mean.. erm.. a real breakfast?"

"I would love to" Isabella replied with a lighter heart and the most beautiful smile Seokjin had ever seen.

"Well, erm.. this whole situation is still kind of.. you know.." Seokjin stumbled, making his guest look up from her pottage*.

An awkward silence hung in the air for an uncomfortable minute.

"Oh right. It's my responsibility to explain this to you." Isabella snapped out of her reverie and put down her spoon, shifting on the chair to a more comfortable position. "I kind of forgot it amidst all the chaos. So.." she trailed off and thought for a minute. "Well.. I'm a bit different from you I suppose."

"I can see that." Seokjin almost rolled his eyes at her her lame start.

Her ears turned red. "Fine. Don't laugh at me. How else can I explain!"

"Okay." Seokjin said, biting his cheek to suppress his laughter at her adorable expression.

"I'm an Avisian." She said out of blue making him choke on his bread.

The joyful atmosphere became serious in a split second, only the rustling of peach leaves could be heard.

"A-Avisian?"

"You know about Avisians?" Isabella asked, more like a confirmation than a question, judging from his reaction.

"My grandfather used to tell me stories about Avisians. People who could transform themselves into birds when they wanted to. Right?"

Isabella nodded. "What else do you know?"

"Avisians lived among us in past. But human kings thought of them as a threat and they started to hunt Avisians. So they hid in the dark forest and built a secret kingdom named Ava."

"I thought humans don't know about us."

"Well, story of Avisians is pretty famous. But I don't think anyone thinks that it's real"

"What do mean by it's not real?"

"Mm.. it's supposed to be a fairytale for children." Seokjin softly said, not wanting her to be offended.

"Ah.."

"I remember wishing to meet one when I was little." Seokjin said with a smile. "Never thought it will come true."

"Seems like I'm a little late.." With that, both of them broke out starting to laugh.

"I seriously can't believe that I've been with an Avisian all this time." Seokjin said after a minute, bringing back the usual conversation.

"I never thought I'd approach a human either." Isabella confessed honestly. "But when you sang that day at the stream, I couldn't resist following you. Never expected a human could allure me with a song. Your voice was seriously fabulous."

Seokjin looked down at his long forgotten breakfast, cheeks red with blush. It has been a long time since anyone complemented him, let alone a gorgeous woman. "It's not even that good."

"You must be kidding me. It's the best I have ever heard. Even the best Avisian musician can't make me feel that way."

"Thank you." Seokjin said smiling. Isabella's heartskipped a beat at the sight.

*pottage - stew eaten by the lower class people in the medieval period, made from peas, onions and beans