And so Serdin and Formo’s complicated and tumultuous day passed, and the next day arrived. Formo, who woke up early, paced near the window and kept glancing outside. It was to watch for whether the presence he had seen yesterday might pass by this area.
And Serdin, who had been awake before Formo but was pretending to sleep to watch him waddle around alone, opened his half-closed eyes. Serdin looked at Formo’s back and thought about the kiss he hadn’t gotten yesterday. Unlike yesterday, Formo seemed quite curious about the outside, so it seemed like it would be fine to subtly suggest a walk.
“Pipi.”
Startled by the voice that suddenly came from behind, Formo whipped his head around to look at Serdin.
“Won’t you be scared today?”
At that question, a resolute light appeared on Formo’s face. He had thought a lot during the night. So many thoughts had crossed his mind that his head ached. Then his thoughts had leaned toward checking just one more time, since it might be an herbivore rather than a predator.
Formo nodded his head, putting strength into his beak.
“Then let’s go for a walk outside today. But you have to give me the kiss you didn’t give me yesterday. Got it?”
“……Ppik.”
He thought he’d forgotten, but he remembered quite well. Grumbling quietly, Formo waited for Serdin to get ready. Soon, Serdin, who had taken off his nightgown and roughly thrown on suitable clothes, extended his hand to Formo. Formo climbed onto his hand familiarly and headed outside the detached palace with him.
Outside, a cool breeze was blowing gently. Formo was putting all his energy into his eyes, thinking about finding out who had left the footprints, while Serdin was keenly watching for the right moment to receive a kiss from such a Formo.
“Pipi.”
Around the time Formo’s tension had relaxed a little, having discovered nothing, Serdin called him softly. Formo’s gaze turned toward Serdin.
“The kiss?”
At the question that followed, Formo narrowed his brow, let out a deep sigh, and stuck out his beak. Since he was planning to peck his cheek anyway, not give him a kiss, it seemed better to play along roughly and shut him up.
Serdin lowered his eyes slightly with a face full of anticipation. And just as he was quietly waiting for the touch of the small beak that would finally reach his cheek today—
“Ppiiii! Ppiit……!”
As if breaking the peace, the chirping of a long-tailed tit was heard from afar. Surprised, Formo stopped bringing his beak to Serdin’s cheek and looked around with wide-open eyes. Unless there was a problem with his memory, this familiar chirping and intonation definitely belonged to his older sister Armo.
Though the end of the chirp was slightly hoarse, it was unmistakably Armo’s. She was probably tired from a long flight, so her voice had become a bit hoarse.
Since Formo had never thought that Armo would come all the way here looking for him, he couldn’t stay still.
“Ppii! Ppi! Ppiiik!”
Formo chirped with all his might to let her know that he was here, that he had been waiting for his family here, that he had heard Armo’s chirping. The louder Formo’s chirping became, and the closer the other long-tailed tit’s voice got, the colder Serdin’s face became.
“……Pipi.”
“Ppiiii! Ppii!”
Even at Serdin’s call, Formo paid no attention and kept chirping. Formo’s small body kept bobbing up and down as if it would fly up at any moment.
It seemed the small bird he had planned to keep hidden in his arms forever had heard the chirping of his kin looking for him. That couldn’t happen. Serdin had no intention of sending Formo back to them. He twisted up one corner of his mouth, recalling the ‘long-tailed tit search party’ that Kert had mentioned.
“Pipi.”
Serdin, who called Formo softly, slowly closed his large hand holding the long-tailed tit. Formo’s body, which had been moving freely until just moments ago, was tightly enclosed in Serdin’s grip. Serdin spoke in an affectionate voice to Formo, who was looking up at him resentfully and struggling desperately.
“Let’s go inside now.”
The wind seems particularly cold today.
Serdin added quietly and stubbornly went inside the detached palace with Formo, who was trying to escape from him. After they entered, the wide-open door of the detached palace closed shut. So tightly that not even a sliver of light could leak out.
Formo, who had been forcibly brought inside the detached palace by Serdin, was thoroughly angry. He had long lost interest in traces of other animals. What might have been his only chance to return to the arms of his family searching for him had been futilely taken away right before his eyes.
Moreover, Serdin’s eyes when they came in had been ominous. What if that wretched human tried to harm Armo? Not only that, tears welled up at the thought that he might be captured by this vicious human and never see his family again.
Formo glared at Serdin resentfully with eyes brimming with tears. Even under Formo’s gaze full of resentment, Serdin didn’t care. After returning to the bedroom and placing Formo on the bed, he firmly locked the window. As if thinking that wasn’t enough, he even drew the curtains meticulously.
“Ppik!”
When Formo cried out in protest, only then did Serdin’s gaze turn toward the long-tailed tit. Wariness had settled in his golden eyes at some point. His nerves were on edge, worried that Formo might be taken away by the other long-tailed tit’s chirping he had heard outside just moments ago.
“Pipi, no.”
Serdin spoke firmly, shaking his head without even attaching a subject to explain what “no” meant. Formo, who had been staring at Serdin with blazing eyes as he suddenly said “no,” painfully pecked at Serdin’s hand that was held out before him.
This wicked human endured it without letting out even a small groan. No, he didn’t seem to be in pain at all. At this, Formo’s mood worsened even more. Serdin began to seem even more detestable.
“Ppi, ppik!”
[Open the window! I said open it!]
Serdin quietly stared at Formo, who was shouting in an angry voice, then withdrew his hand. His lips were set in a straight line. He squinted his eyes as if pondering for a moment, then soon turned around and tried to leave the bedroom just like that. That is, if Formo hadn’t suddenly clung to him.
“……Pipi.”
Formo, who had desperately clung to Serdin’s forearm, shook his head vigorously.
“Ppi, ppi! Ppiii!”
At the chirping that even felt desperate, Serdin’s eyebrows twitched. It was because he had roughly figured out what this small bird was chattering about. Formo was clearly worried that Serdin was going to harm his kin. He looked at Formo for a moment with a calm gaze, then spoke softly.
“I have no intention of harming them, Pipi.”
“……Ppii.”
“I’m just going to meet Kert for a moment.”
“Ppi.”
“Really. Trust me, Pipi. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
At the coaxing and soothing words, Formo’s momentum weakened slightly. Serdin knew very well what kind of temperament Formo had. Formo was excessively cautious and often got upset, but once his immediate anger subsided, he quickly regained his reason. Of course, he did hold grudges and sulked for quite a while.
Still, it was better to deal with his grudges than to have him completely sulk and not even look at him. Serdin gently stroked Formo’s round head and smiled softly.
“I’ll be right back, Pipi.”
Although his anger had subsided, Formo, who still only resented Serdin, didn’t bother to reply. Detestably, Serdin also left the bedroom without regret, as if he didn’t expect Formo’s answer. Formo’s beak jutted out in displeasure at the appearance that suggested he didn’t even think Formo would hold him back further.
After the bedroom door closed and he was left alone, Formo looked at the window with gloomy eyes. Even though Serdin, who had seemed so annoying, had left and he was alone, he wasn’t happy at all. It was because his worry about Armo’s safety and his anxiety about missing the chance to return to his family’s arms came first.
Sorrow welled up in Formo’s pupils. Even though it was certain that Armo had come all the way to this huge building to find him, he couldn’t do anything. He could only kill time waiting for Armo to find him…… If only his wings had done their job, he wouldn’t have been this powerless.
“Ppii……”
Formo jutted out his beak in dissatisfaction and trotted toward the window. Then he held his breath as much as possible and listened to the sounds outside.
“……”
Armo’s chirping was no longer heard. Perhaps she had passed by this place without hearing the sounds he made. He had futilely missed the golden opportunity that wouldn’t come again. Formo glared at the curtains blocking the view outside the window, then ruffled his feathers with a flutter.
One of his wings still ached. Perhaps because he had strained himself by trying hard to fly, a tingling pain rose from the roots. Should he have saved his strength for today? Formo felt a little regretful, but soon shook his head and changed his mind.
It wasn’t right to blame his own actions. He was a white-haired long-tailed tit born with the fate of a guardian. A strong guardian always takes responsibility for his choices. So he doesn’t do things like regret.
If something truly unexpectedly regrettable were to happen……
“Ppiii…… ppik.”
[It’s all…… because of that wretched human.]
Formo thought so with serious eyes.
