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Tap, tap, tap.
Eren turned around to see the raven on his windowsill, pecking at the glass, again.
‘What are you up to now, huh?’ He griped.
The bird had been showing up to his place for the better part of a month, uninvited and forever persistent. Something of a fan of unprompted appearances.
‘Go on, shoo.’ He waved it off to no avail, the bird’s beak continuing to poke at his window. Eren huffed and walked over to it, pulling the window up. The raven hopped back yet bounced toward the brunet again seconds later, its talons making a light tik-tik sound on the sill.
‘Well, are you happy now?’ The young man asked.
The raven craned around him, peering inside like it was inspecting the place. It clacked its beak —bok-bok— and hopped forward onto the threshold.
‘You’re awfully curious, aren’t you?’
As if to affirm his remark, the bird made an odd gurgling sound and started waddling sideways to peek past him. Eren moved to block the bird as he didn’t want it getting any ideas.
It paused, tilted its head, and then sidestepped in the opposite direction. It was like the raven knew exactly what Eren was doing.
It almost made the brunet chuckle, but he suppressed any amusement with a snort. Hearing this, though, the bird made another gurgle and then began to flap its wings, crouching like it was about to fly right into his home.
Eren reacted instantly.
‘Oh, no you don’t. Out, out.’ He waved it away, catching it before it got in and shut the window on it.
Now outside on the grass, the raven flapped indignantly, beating its wings as it stared at Eren through the closed window.
The brunet shook his head at it.
If it understood human communication all, it was not coming into his cottage. He’d be damned if he had to try figure out how to wrestle a bloody bird out of his tiny space. Not when he only had one opening window and a single door, because he had a feeling a broom would not cut it with this weirdly perceptive bird.
The brunet watched it sceptically, wondering if it was going to attempt something else, but after pecking and scratching at the dirt, it only gave Eren a final glance and turned around. It bounded thrice, and then took flight, off into the forest.
Eren didn’t understand its obsession.
The bird picked at his roof, almost like it was re-ordering his thatching, rather than stealing pieces for a nest. It would always be nearby when he went on walks. He had witnessed it scare off other creatures that got too close to Eren in a strangely territorial behaviour.
Never mind that, he shook his head. He had cleaning to do.
^^^
The next morning, Eren stretched out of bed and changed from his night clothes. Today was a gardening day. He needed to harvest the ripening tomatoes, weed the patch, and ensure the aphids were not ruining his hard work.
He made himself a pot of porridge and boiled the kettle over the stove for his tea, pouring the water over some dried leaves he had picked from his garden to help wake himself up.
He always relished in his quiet mornings. The best ones were the ones where he could simply ease into his day.
Before long, he was finished with his breakfast and tea, giving his dishes a wash and setting them aside to dry on the rack. He went back to his room to fetch his gloves and remember where he had placed his pruners, only to realise that he had probably left them out back when he had used them last.
Gathering everything else he needed, he finally got to the door and opened it. He had intended to walk straight through, but had to catch himself seeing a collection of miscellaneous items sitting on his doormat. There was some blue ribbon, a bell that might have once been part of a collar and a piece of sanded dowel.
‘What on earth…?’ Eren muttered to himself.
He picked the items up and glanced around.
Eren sighed. No one was in sight, but he figured he could already guess who the culprit was. The brunet shrugged and brought the items inside, placing them on his dining table. Then he headed out again for his pruners and to tend to his vegetable patch.
Finally settled, Eren admired how well his plants were doing. They were all healthy and thriving, much to his delight. No nasty spots or yellowing leaves, no caterpillars eating the fruits of his labour. That was good. All he had to do was a bit of harvest collection and sew some new seeds then.
As he knelt, there was a beat of wings.
Oh, come on.
He turned his head just as it landed a metre or so in front of him, head bobbing as it looked around.
‘You’re back again.’ He muttered.
The bird gave a pleased caw.
Eren wondered if he was perhaps crazy thinking the bird understood him and even more so for considering holding a conversation with it.
‘And I’m guessing you were the one who dropped off those lovely… trinkets this morning.’
The bird beat his wings, its feathered chest puffing up.
‘Oh? Is that a, yes? Want to tell me what they are for?’
The raven let out a soft, warbling gurgle. It was a strange sound, but one that was remarkably gentle. It was somewhere in the realm of a cat’s purr, if only the sound were made by a bird’s imitation.
Eren sighed, nodding and deciding to return his focus to his veggie patch.
He put on his gloves and began to pick the fruits of his labour. For the tomatoes, he would let them continue to ripen on his windowsill. He also collected some herbs and would hang them up to dry on a string, and pulled some lettuce that had plumped nicely. Once it was all tidy and in the basket, he started to prepare the dirt for his new seedlings, breaking it up and letting it air.
Observing his actions, the raven hopped onto the dirt and started piercing it with his beak. It did so in an orderly fashion and with surprising accuracy, poking holes an even distance apart and with the same depth.
The side of Eren’s lips lifted in wonder and amusement, ‘You’re…actually helping?’
He sat back on his heels and watched, letting it do its thing since it was completing the job well.
Once it was satisfactory and the bed was adequately prepared, Eren started glancing around for his seeds. Not in his immediate vicinity, he stood up, wondering where he might have dropped them.
‘Where did I put them?’ He mumbled to himself.
As if on cue, the raven suddenly bounded toward him, sachet in its beak.
‘Ha, thanks.’
The raven ruffled its feathers and started pruning itself as Eren knelt back down. The brunet filled the holes and then covered them over with the dirt, finishing with his watering can and showering the new seedlings with rain.
‘Whelp, I think we’re done here,’ Eren remarked, standing up and dusting off his hands. ‘Thanks for your help.’ He said to the raven, a smile reaching his eyes.
The raven stared up at him, eyes sharp and intent.
‘Um, we’re finished,’ Eren slanted his head off to the side. ‘So, you can go now, if you want?’ Then he blinked and shook his head. Oh, what am I doing talking to a bird? ‘Sorry, you have no idea what I’m saying, do you? Oh, well, I suppose I could give you something as a thanks. Let me see if I have anything you could eat.’
The second the last words left his mouth, the bird flew straight to his front door.
‘What the —?’ The brunet blinked in surprise. Alright, then. Did the raven actually understand him?
When he finally caught up, basket in hand, the bird was on his doormat, waiting and looking up at him. It cawed at him, very obviously suggesting it should be let in.
‘I can get you some bread, but you’re not coming inside.’
The bird crowed again and hopped forward right under Eren’s feet, staring up.
‘Aren’t you a pushy little thing?’ The brunet huffed and put the basket down. Eren folded his arms as he rounded the bird and stepped in front of the door, reaching back for the doorknob while the other hand was out in front, taking to the raven, ‘You stay here, alright? I’ll grab something and be right back.’
But the bird obviously had other ideas, slyly side-stepping him now that the door was partly askew, slowly trying to round his foot.
Eren just blocked it again. The bird cawed and fluffed up.
‘Serves you right for even trying.’ Eren remarked.
It then turned around, strutting away, and Eren thought maybe it had finally given up, only for it to whip back around and bolt inside without warning.
‘Hey!’ Eren turned around, ‘Oh, you little bastard!’
The raven sounded like it was almost laughing at him, heavy, elongated gurgles emitting from its beak.
Eren ran a hand through his hair. ‘Alright, fine! You got in. So, what now, huh?’
The bird started pattering around on the floor, looking around at the furniture. It bounded around some and then eventually flew up onto the dining table.
Eren looked at it with displeasure, ‘You know, if you shit on my furniture, I’m not gonna be happy.’
The bird cawed as if it were snorting at him.
The brunet raised his arms in defeat and decided maybe it was just best to ignore his smug little intruder. He only hoped the raven had a decent enough memory that, once it was satisfied with whatever it intended to do in his house, it would know to go back from where it came.
Settling on this, Eren turned back to the door and let it swing wide. Then he walked past the threshold to bring in the vegetables and herbs he had picked, placing the basket on the bench.
Once again, the raven was right there with him.
‘Yes, yes, I haven’t forgotten. I’m getting your reward for helping now.’
He turned around and opened the bread bin, tearing a few small pieces off the loaf. Then, facing back to the bird, he placed the crumbs on the bench before it.
The raven observed it and hopped around, waiting and oddly polite about it. Almost like it was after his permission or something.
‘Well, go on,’ he told it.
It immediately pecked at the bread, making a happy caw, its feathers ruffling and getting through it quickly. The bird then gazed back at him, looking like it wanted more, and Eren snorted. He turned around again and pulled a bit more off the loaf and then paused. Wait, he could just tempt it back out!
The idea was genius!
He placed a few crumbs before the raven and it ate it up again, and waited, knowing Eren held more in his hand. Eren grinned and dribbled a few crumbs a little bit further away this time. Without hesitation, the raven went for it.
Now confident his plan would work; the brunet made a trail.
The bird hopped along happily, none-the-wiser, and once at the end of the bench, Eren stepped back.
‘You want more?’ He waved the bread and then dropped the crumbs on the floor.
The bird approached, pecking at the morsels one-by-one.
This continued until Eren was only a few meters from the open door. The brunet placed down the last of his bread, past the threshold but noticed the bird had stopped.
‘Come on, there’s still plenty,’ he encouraged. It didn’t move. He came closer with one of the larger pieces, ‘What about this? This better?’ He held it out in front of the raven, timid in his movements, not wanting to scare it off now that he was so close.
And yet, despite his efforts, the bird decided to turn around and bound away.
‘Oh, bloody hell!’ He cursed, and he heard the chittering-like laughter again.
It had done that on purpose, hadn’t it? It had known what he was trying to do all along!
Eren growled in annoyance, ‘Fine, fine, fine! Stay if you’re so desperate!’
The bird whipped back at him and cocked its head.
‘What?’ He asked, brow creasing.
The raven suddenly lifted off and then flew towards his room.
‘HEY!’ He called, following after it.
When he caught up to the raven, he found it perched on his dresser, wings folded, seated, and pruning itself.
‘What? You’re thinking of nesting here? No shot.’ Eren ruled.
The bird paused its pruning, only to resume as if nothing had been said.
^^^
He had not managed to get the raven out of his house that day, nor the day after, nor the day after that. Not even now, a whole two weeks later.
Well, actually, he had.
It had followed him out each time he had gone out to do chores or go for a walk. It would circle above him, sometimes even disappear for a small while. Somehow, though, each time he thought he had finally rid himself of the other, it managed to get back in.
He accepted this may be his imminent future, as the raven had set up permanent residence in his room.
The thing was, it wasn’t even that bad anymore, if he was honest. The raven never got loud, it was cleaner than he expected, and strangely companionable. It didn’t interfere so much as actually try to help him throughout the day, and at night, it just settled in the corner on the dresser like a watchful little sentinel.
And Eren found himself talking to it, a lot.
Much more than he probably should, admittedly. He ought to be weirded out, with himself, not the bird. But the thing was, he lived alone, and the other was always just there.
It wasn’t like it was going to hurt anyone?
^^^
Late one evening, long after the light had faded from the sky, Eren sat on the floor beside the hearth. He had his legs stretched out, and a cup of tea was left cooling in his hand.
The raven was perched nearby on the windowsill, watching him with its usual steady stare. However, it seemed a little agitated, maybe.
Another few weeks had passed, and while everything was the same, the others more unusual behaviours were arguably even more amped up. He felt like the raven had become more watchful and protective of him. And every day now, Eren had been receiving some form of gift too.
The brunet turned a smooth bit of glass over in his fingers — this one he had received just today, late in the afternoon. It had a soft green tint, its level shape melded by the ocean. It was admittedly very pretty. When he had held up the glass in the setting light, it had almost glowed.
Eren couldn’t give an answer why, but he had kept all the gifts he had received thus far from the other. They all now lived in a small wooden bowl on his table, as tokens of...well, something.
He glanced over again at the bird, still there, still watching. Although realising it had been caught, it pretended it was just sharpening its beak. Eren shook his head as he looked away.
Weird thing.
He sat gazing at the fire and held up the glass again, seeing it catching the light of the flames. These moments were pleasant to him. They were peaceful, and he felt calm and reassured with the other's presence, however odd it might have been.
Flap, flap, flap.
Eren looked down, and a pile of more miscellaneous items had been placed before him as the raven immediately flew back to its perch by the windowsill.
‘Wow, five things in one day? How special am I?’ Eren grinned teasingly, looking at the bird.
The raven pretended to ignore him, preening itself. Eren hummed.
‘You know, you’re very peculiar. I thought I was strange talking to a bird, but I think you’re an anomaly in itself. I can’t think of anything I’ve done to earn your favour. Like, why do you keep giving me things? You literally follow me everywhere, you help me with chores, I don’t get it.’
It squawked at him, almost like a scoff. This time its eyes locked onto his properly. It cocked its head, almost like it was debating something, then wagged its head.
Without warning, smoke began to rise from its feathers, curling up in slow tendrils, black and silken. The air thickened, and Eren’s breath caught in his throat as the raven’s body seemed to fold inward, feathers giving way to shadows. Whisps of black smoke began to seep out from around the raven. It grew in density, enveloped around it, and the stream of smoke plumed outward and stretched higher.
Eren’s jaw went slack.
A voice slid through the smoke like silk.
‘Really, all that talking, and you still haven’t figured it out?’
The brunet froze. His blood turning to ice.
From within the curling haze, the raven was gone, and in its place stood a man. Sharp-eyed, with ink-black hair, the same colour as had been his feathers, and an expression that balanced smugness and curiosity.
‘You’re—’ Eren started, unable to put the words together.
‘—Extremely patient,’ the pale man cut in. ‘Honestly, I was beginning to think I might just have to spell it out with twigs.’
Eren blinked at him, shaking his head in bewilderment. ‘You’re… not a bird.’
The man gave a little shrug, the corner of his mouth twitching up. ‘No. Not just a bird.’
Eren stared. ‘What are you?’
‘I’m Levi,’ he replied smoothly, ‘A shapeshifter is probably the most accurate translation. Though I prefer an enigmatic woodland spirit with a great taste in mates.’
Eren choked. ‘I— sorry, what?’
The man smiled now, a little too pleased with himself. ‘Don’t act surprised. I’ve been nothing if not obvious, haven’t I? Gifts? Company? Devotion? Frankly, I was starting to feel a little rejected.’
Eren was stuck between awe, fascination and mortification.
‘Rejected? Wh-what?’ Mates? What was he talking about? ‘You broke into my house and bullied me into feeding you!’
‘Details,” Levi said smoothly. ‘Romance looks different in my world.’
Eren let out a breath and pressed his fingers to his temples. ‘This is insane. What do you mean by mates?’
‘Simple,’ the other grinned, ‘You are my chosen.’ Eren tilted his head, and Levi elaborated, ‘We are paired. Fated. Bonded… for life.’
‘No,’ Eren shook his head. ‘No, no, no.’ He wagged his hand at the other, ‘That doesn’t- That’s not what we are.’
The other stared at him, immovable in his stance and certain in his point.
‘Yes. That is what we are. You have just made it very difficult, Eren. I have been courting you and trying very hard to win you over.’
Eren stared at him, unsure if he wanted to laugh or frankly panic. ‘What the fuck?! Me? I’ve made it difficult?’ He felt like he was going mad, ‘You appear before me like this and just, what? Expect me to just accept all of this? Accept you?’
The other paused.
Eren watched as the other blinked, and there was a flicker of hurt across the man’s expression. Suddenly, he felt guilty for speaking to him that way. Before he could apologise, Levi answered him with a sigh.
‘No, I expect nothing.’ He spoke sincerely as he looked at Eren through his lashes, ‘But to you, I offer everything.’
The words silenced Eren.
Levi took a small step closer, his voice now low, steady, stripped of humour, ‘My kind mate for life. Not by accident. Not by impulse. We choose with intent.’ His eyes held Eren’s with quiet certainty. ‘You do not have to say anything now. But if you ever decide to let me stay, I mean beside you… Then, I promise I will protect you, provide for you, cherish you.’
Eren felt the words settle like a weight in his chest.
And then, Levi extended his hand, palm up, an invitation, not a command.
Eren had lived here for two years. He didn’t even like people. And yet, here he was, in the presence of some sort of otherworldly being, offering to be his mate.
In his other form, the man had been there beside him every day. He had acted like he understood everything — and as it turned out, he did. Eren had confided in him, thinking none of it would be comprehended… But even though he hadn’t thought the other could grasp his words, he had always felt listened to.
When he had been sad, or when loneliness crept in, the other had comforted him, sitting in his lap and letting Eren stroke its feathers while it emitted a soothing warble. Eren had felt so cared for, even when he had thought it was merely a creature that had taken a liking to him.
He had gotten used to the other, and admittedly, it had been nice to come home and not be completely alone. The other made him laugh so easily, always trying to receive his attention through its familiar cheekiness. It had made his days these past few months fun and exciting; he was always curious to find out what a new day would bring.
Even the other’s more unconventional behaviours remained intriguing. Eren had never fully understood the meaning of the trinkets, but he had always been warmed by them. There was a beauty in each one. And now, knowing they were offerings of devotion, changed much of how he interpreted them.
There was, had always been, an intention behind the other’s actions; to help him, to make him laugh, to bring him joy. He had not seen it clearly until now. The realisation, paired with the constant companionship, made Eren’s face suddenly flush.
This being—this strange, stubborn, wonderful presence—had been by his side every day.
And Eren… didn’t want him to leave.
The man tilted his head, just as Eren had seen him do so many times in his other form. But this time it felt different.
Slowly, hesitantly, Eren gave him his hand.
‘I don’t know what this means, but I would like to give it a chance. I want to give you a chance.’
Levi brought Eren’s hand toward him and then kissed the back of his palm.
‘It would be my highest honour.’