“Ppiik! Ppippik!”
“Ppiiik? Ppiiii……!”
“Ppik? Ppiiit! Ppiit, ppippippi!”
Two long-tailed tits were having a conversation with resounding voices. If one looked closely at the details of these sounds that seemed like nothing more than loud chirping, the following meanings were hidden within.
[Formo has disappeared! He hasn’t been seen for days!]
[Surely he wasn’t kidnapped? If not that, then maybe he went beyond the barrier……!]
[The barrier? There’s no way! He’s a child I raised. There’s no way he would do something so foolish!]
They were Formo’s parents. They had been making all sorts of commotion, worrying about Formo who hadn’t shown himself in Arancha for days. Their worry was even greater since it hadn’t been long since Formo had removed the bandages wrapped around his wings.
Arancha was a small kingdom made by connecting several large trees. In truth, it was so modest in size that it was almost embarrassing to call it a kingdom, but it was undoubtedly a fortress suitable for long-tailed tits to live peacefully.
“Ppii! Ppiiik!”
Moti, the queen who ruled that Arancha and Formo’s mother, flapped her wings vigorously and insisted.
[This won’t do! I must dispatch a search party to find Formo!]
Formo’s father, Potun, had been thinking the same thing as Moti, so he quietly supported her decision.
[We should select and send only the elites.]
[Yes. We’ll be able to find him soon, Moti.]
[I really hope so, Potun…….]
Potun gently patted the shoulder of Moti, whose eyes were brimming with tears.
—
* * *
The white-headed long-tailed tit, which the god of long-tailed tits had chosen as their guardian protector, was an exceptionally strong individual. All the white-headed long-tailed tits who had served as the kingdom’s guardian throughout history possessed sturdy wings, sharp beaks, and magnificent tail feathers. The piercing gleam in their round, black eyes was especially the highlight.
Nearly ten eagles had fled after meeting those intimidating eyes. Thus, even raptors with sharp talons, beaks, and large bodies yielded before the presence of the white-headed long-tailed tit.
Formo, born with the fate of being a guardian as a white-headed long-tailed tit like them, should naturally have possessed such qualities. But unfortunately, Formo was an infinitely weak bird compared to them.
“Ppiiit…….”
A timid and fragile bird who had to meekly offer up his body to Serdin, who was examining him here and there with narrowed eyes. Formo looked at Serdin once, then at his own wing once, with melancholic eyes. The white-headed long-tailed tit’s round eyes took on a moist gleam, wavering as if tears would fall at any moment.
“Pipi.”
Formo’s resolution to never shed tears no matter what happened was useless in front of Serdin. Strangely, when facing Serdin, instinct took precedence over reason.
“I’m sorry, Pipi. Did it hurt a lot?”
At the affectionate question, Formo weakly shook his head. It hurt far more to realize that he was such a helpless long-tailed tit than the pain in his wing.
He had been certain he would become a strong and reliable white-headed long-tailed tit, but he was actually a foolish bird who couldn’t use his wings at the slightest provocation. What a sad and cruel reality this was. Formo didn’t want to accept that cold reality.
“Ppiii…….”
Moreover, being like this with a human made him miss his family terribly, making him feel sorrowful. How worried must his family be about him? Formo openly displayed his gloomy mood and turned away from Serdin.
Then he completely turned his body that was lying on the cushion. Once he was in a position with his back to Serdin, Formo finally had room to think.
“Ah, Pipi…….”
Serdin, who had been silently watching Formo from behind, let out an exclamation of admiration and sighed. Formo now wanted to cover his ears, afraid of what strange words, what embarrassing words would come from his lips.
“You trust me enough to show me your back? Hm? Really?”
What on earth was that nonsense? As expected, everything that came out of his mouth was nothing but strange. Formo sighed deeply and casually fluttered his wings as if to say “think whatever you want.”
No matter how much he denied it day and night, the other party wouldn’t listen anyway.
“Hah…….”
Then a breath close to being moved escaped from behind.
“……Pipi, I’ll stop thinking of you as an appetizer from now on.”
Formo, who didn’t know what “appetizer” meant, thought “whatever it is, it must be good that he’s stopping” and indifferently let his words pass. After all, there wasn’t a single proper thing among what that human said.
“Someone as cute as you…….”
Serdin, who had been speaking softly, noticed Formo’s tail feathers trembling as if displeased and naturally added,
“And dignified…….”
Upon hearing that word, Formo’s tail feathers perked up, and then his body rolled exactly half a turn to face Serdin. Serdin looked at Formo’s black eyes and continued affectionately.
“There couldn’t be a more magnificent bird. There’s no way two such perfect birds could exist in this world. There’s only one bird as valiant and reliable as Pipi. Isn’t that right, Pipi?”
“Ppit!”
Formo, who was quite pleased with his flattery, made a somewhat proud expression. Uncontainable pride made Formo’s beak twitch.
“So I should cherish you for a lifetime.”
“……Ppii?”
Formo couldn’t understand why the conversation veered in that direction, but since he had received praise, he decided to let it pass. Except for his parents, there was no one who called him a dignified and magnificent bird. Even Formo’s friends, the long-tailed tits, never said Formo was dignified.
Instead, they were busy suppressing their laughter, asking how he could become a magnificent guardian protecting Arancha when he was so cute. When he recalled his friends’ annoying behavior, Formo’s mood instantly soured, and he struck the cushion with his intact wing. Pang!
“Pipi?”
Startled by Formo’s violent behavior that he was seeing for the first time, Serdin widened his eyes. But he soon curved his eye corners softly and smiled.
“Pipi, I like being with you because I don’t have idle thoughts.”
*Because you don’t even give me time to think about other things, Pipi.*
At the words added in a whisper, Formo blinked his round eyes and tilted his head. As his small, white head leaned side to side curiously, a faint smile was added to Serdin’s lips.
“Pipi, it’ll take fifty years…… no, was it a hundred years for your injured wing to fully heal? Anyway, it’ll take a long time, but it’ll be fun being with me. You’ll be safe.”
The words he uttered with a smiling face were quite mischievous, but Formo had no way of knowing. He only thought that he hoped his wing would heal within ten years, earlier than fifty years. Serdin carefully stroked Formo’s innocent head and smiled brightly.
It was a smile that would have made Kert gasp and ask who he was going to deal with this time, but Formo was different. The moment Serdin’s cold and chilly impression sparkled while wearing a smile, his gaze was stolen.
The man had a cool countenance and was excessively expressionless, which was sometimes frightening. He was certainly handsome enough to appear beautiful even to Formo’s bird eyes, but except when he was talking to Formo, he was always expressionless, so there was no chance to feel that way.
So when that Serdin showed a bright smile rather than just a mischievous curve of his lips, his gaze was bound to be stolen. The long-tailed tit firmly captured Serdin’s smile in his eyes with his small beak loosely open.
“Pipi, do you like me so much that you’re watching without even blinking? Or…… do you like my face?”
Then he turned pale and trembled at the words Serdin playfully tossed out.
*’Wh-what am I doing right now……?’*
Formo twitched his beak and reflected on his own foolish behavior before shaking his head vigorously. Watching that sight, Serdin quietly swallowed his laughter.
—
* * *
On a morning when the dim dawn lifted and sunlight filled the room, the soundly sleeping Formo wriggled his body seeking warmth. Formo’s sleeping cushion was always warm and cozy as if enchanted, and Formo liked to sleep with his body pressed as close as possible to that cushion.
As Formo moved to find the optimal position to enjoy the warmth, his head came into contact with something that was both firm and warm. Formo flinched at the unfamiliar sensation but soon adapted and rested his head gently against it while breathing evenly.
Just when it seemed like he had been like that for a while, Formo’s eyes snapped open. He instinctively felt an ominous premonition. Without even time to wipe the drool that had flowed down his beak, Formo sprang up from his spot and confirmed “that thing” in front of him.
*’H-hiik……!’*
That something against which Formo had obediently rested his head, thinking it was warm, was none other than—
“Good morning, Pipi. It’s a nice morning. You’re getting up quite rowdily today.”
The chest of the wicked human Serdin. Why on earth was this human in front of him? No, more than that, why was he sleeping on the human’s bed! Formo was truly going crazy.
