"Thank you for the hospitality you have shown me, I have to go, so I will be taking my leave now." Dylan respectably thanked the couple with a handsome bow, his right hand placed over his chest.
"No need to be so formal. You can come visit any time." An helped to fix the hairdo that Fir messed up and very motherly smiled at him. Faced against the unfamiliar yet nostalgic warmth, Dylan felt at a loss for what to do. He could only stupidly stand there, an awkward smile plastered over his face.
"You remind me of my mother." He muttered to himself.
"Your mother?" With her sharp ears, An caught what Dylan had said. "What is she like?"
Dylan froze for a bit before speaking. "…She was a kind and benevolent person. Despite everything, she always faced the world with a smile. As a single mother, she never gave up and was more beautiful than anyone, in soul and in appearance."
A proud and warm smile surfaced on Dylan's face. His heart bubbled in remembrance and longing. The hazy face of that brave woman appeared in his mind, her ever present smile filled with sunshine. However, her face seemed to be fading from his memory. He could no longer fully recall what she looked like, only her smile seemed to accompany him.
Fir sensed that tinge of sorrow surfacing in Dylan's heart and rubbed his head against his cheek. The cool sensation on his skin brought Dylan's attention back and he rubbed on the bird's head, thanking him softly.
Meanwhile, An noticed the use of 'was' by Dylan. She very sensibly didn't pursue the issue and bid Dylan farewell.
"Please come by for dinner again. This time, without the alcohol for course." She giggled.
"I'll like to try some of your cooking again." Ping added.
Dylan tilted his head at his words but nodded anyways. "Then, see you again."
With a nod, Dylan left the house, Sherry following after him to give him a ride home. At the traffic light, Sherry kept stealing glances over at Dylan, causing him to feel distracted.
"Is there something on my face?" Dylan asked, feeling his face for food scraps or something.
"No. Just wondering if you were okay." Sherry replied and redirected her gaze to face the front.
"…Why would you think that?" Dylan asked after a pause.
"You looked sad."
"I did?" Dylan looked shocked for a bit. He smiled charmingly and shook his head. "I'm not. Why would I be?"
"I'm your friend so of course I'll notice, Dylan. I understand if you don't want to talk about it, but when you're ready, I'm here for you."
"…That's not fair, Sherry. That's exactly what I told you just this morning."
"Well, I guess we're both hiding things from each other, so its fair." Sherry laughed and continued to focus on driving.
The rest of the car ride was filled by silence. The two felt a divide between them that didn't previously exist and didn't know what to do to fill the gap.
"Morning, Lyn!" Fir suddenly popped out of Dylan's summon space and chirped. He flew happily around the car and carried with him a faint fragrance of fruits.
"Morning, Fir. Did you have a good breakfast?" Dylan chuckled and asked.
"Yep." Fir nodded with gusto. "I haven't been in the summoning space in a while, so I accidentally ate more than usual."
"You rascal." Dylan smirked. "What if you ate all my mana? I worked hard to absorb it you know?"
"Don't lie, Lyn! I hardly even had any. Your mana is basically full." Fir protested and pouted his cheeks. "Besides, its good if I eat a lot. The more I eat, the faster I grow. Soon, Fir might even be able to take on a human form."
"A human form?" Sherry asked curiously.
"Yep." Fir happily answered. "When Sylphices mature enough, we gain another form, a human form! That said, a human uses more energy than our normal form, so we prefer our original forms."
"When I met Fir's parents, they transformed into their human forms right in front of me. I was so surprised." Dylan chuckled. "They looked a lot like elves but had rounded ears like humans. Their hair was the same colour as their feathers, it was really pretty."
"How nice. I wish I was there to see it." Sherry commented.
"Well, it was long before we met, when I was still a kid."
"When you were a kid? Then how old is Fir?"
"I'm 15!" Fir answered.
"15?" Sherry repeated. "You sure don't act 15."
"Of course Fir doesn't. Because Fir is a mature adult, so Fir doesn't behave like a child." Fir replied whilst raising his head up haughtily.
Sherry let out a soft giggle and played along. "Yeah, Fir sure is grown up, aren't you?"
"You're so grown up that you don't need fairy drops anymore, yeah?" Dylan teased.
"What? No, I need it! Dylan also eats them too, so why can't Fir? Sherry, Dylan's being mean to me!" Fir complained and cried in anger.
"Ah, Fir, it's dangerous to bother me while I'm driving." Sherry shooed the bird away.
"Boohoo, Dylan. Sherry is driving me away." Fir flew back to Dylan and complained again.
"Didn't you just run away from me?" Dylan laughed and caressed Fir's feathers.
"Uuu, you two are bullying me!" Fir cried in injustice.
Dylan and Sherry glanced at each other and burst into laughter at Fir's expense. Somehow, that gap that existed before was so easily filled in by Fir.
Fir: Author~ Dylan and Sherry were bullying me!
Author: You two, don't bully the poor child, he's very important you know?
Fir: Author!
Author: He's necessary for when I don't know what to write. He appears when needed and disappears when not, how convenient right?
Fir: Uwahhhhh~~~~ Author is bullying me too!!!