Flight School: Prey

So Dark that it was Bright

It was no surprise that Jiro had been terribly afraid for his friend. He had come to him after the first dance—deathly pale and ridden with guilt—to ask who he had danced with.

Io himself couldn't come up with a solid response. After all, he didn't know her name.

"She had long black hair...wearing a black dress," This was all—unfortunately—very useless indeed since there were simply too many people at the ball who wore a black dress and had long hair. Jiro pointed this out rather lightly, calming down after confirming that his friend was well-taken care of.

"Oh!" The sparrow recalled quite suddenly, "she's from the council. I think."

Jiro's shoulders fell slightly as he apologized. Marks were rarely involved with the council.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Io laughed, a sigh of relief leaving his lips. "I still have the evening ball to go for, so I might..." See her again, he wanted to say, but it was in that precise moment that Io remembered something very important.

He darted past the Marks (pigeons, mostly) who were clearing up after the Hunt ball, preparing for the next in the late evening as he waved over his shoulder. "I—I gotta go. Let's talk at home!"

The sparrow had forgotten that he was to meet the strict and impatient man who had, begrudgingly, passed on Luka's invitation to the Commemoration ball. Ah, he was late.

Surely, a lengthy warning was imminent. And perhaps a lecture on punctuality.

He also noticed not the look of pleasant surprise on his roommate's face. Not when he bumped into a wall whilst turning back to give a final wave; and definitely not when he used the word 'home'.

The nightingale was honored.

*

"You've got the buttons on your vest wrong," The council representative snapped darkly, eyes already cold from the boy's earlier mistake of being late. "I fear your ability to carry a tray of drinks across the room. You are absolutely beyond salvation."

As it turns out, Io didn't even need to think about his attire in the first place. He had completely forgotten about the slight alteration to his invitation—the sparrow was invited as a waiter, not a guest.

Still, the remark about him being 'beyond salvation' was, for all intents and purposes, harshly put across.

"Sorry Sir," Io had bowed almost immediately, hoping that at least being passive would earn himself an easier time getting along with the teacher.

"Your tie is ridiculous. It's far too long. Adjust it will you?" Io's school tie had a stick-on Velcro at the back—he had no clue how to tie one. Besides, absolutely no one wore a tie back in his village. "Oh someone save him from the pits of despair."

A Winged crow decided to lend a hand.

Io learnt something new that day; and it was the fact that crows were considered predators—though the lowest tier, third—and they were the only ones who proved to be humble and unassuming indeed. The sparrow was quick to remind himself, however, that generalizing would be a dire mistake to make.

"Have you taken a look at your scheduled duties?"

The boy nodded firmly. "Yes Sir."

"And?"