It took a few moments to get Aphrael to actually drink the magicked blood. Not because the corvid was suddenly squeamish about it, but rather trying to figure out how to get her to drink it comfortably. She kept wanting to try holding the vial in one edge of her beak, but each time she tried Nevin had to catch it to prevent it from falling to the floor. Finally the blood mage told her to just open her beak, and poured the crimson fluid into her mouth. A slight shiver ran along the bird’s form as the blood flowed down her throat, and then she went silent and still.

A full body twitch shot through her, making her feathers stand out in an unnatural way, and Nevin took a step back, frowning. If his attempt at finalizing their bond had failed, or worse, had hurt her… He frowned as he noticed something strange. It had been subtle at first, a small change that could pass by unseen if it hadn't kept progressing further and further.

The tinge of red that had been on the very ends of her feathers was now spreading upwards along the glossy black, like a spreading stain. It also wasn't happening to all of the feathers at once - Nevin had missed it at first because it seemed like it was expanding geometrically - it had started at one feather and began creeping outwards, infecting more and more as time progressed. The man followed the chain of feathers that had ‘slowed down’ in their change - he thought it had stopped but wasn't sure yet - back to a feather that was directly over Aphrael’s heart.

This feather apparently had stopped changing, despite the fact that the scarlet stain was still spreading outwards. Red had spread halfway across it, and up at the very edge where the two shades met, was a darker red line, like a fresh scar. It was… disconcerting to say the least, but it didn’t seem to have affected anything beyond the color of the feathers. Aphrael herself was still recovering, her body shivering repeatedly as she her body adjusted to the influx of Nevin’s magic. The half-way mark was the furthest the red spread along her feathers - and the further from her heart that the feather was, the less had been stained crimson.

Nevin reached out and brushed his fingertips against the bird and she shook herself and looked at his hand, then up to his face, and let out a pleased little trill. He could feel her now, in a strange way, like a source of simple happiness sitting in the back of his head that he couldn’t shake. As he focused on that feeling, it swelled into a distracting joy as Aphrael spread her wings and her notes rose into a triumphant flourish. He couldn’t help himself, and let out a small laugh at the sensation. It settled back down into a calmer pleasure as the corvid twisted her head down and nipped at his fingers, then twisted her head back towards the platform and ladder.

“Yes, I suppose we don’t need to be stuck underground any longer. Go on then, to the platform, I’ll raise it.” Nevin still had a happy smile on his lips - it would take some time to adjust to the fact that he could apparently feel her emotions bubbling in the back of his...head. It was one of the more unique sensations he had ever encountered, though something about the strange way it was disconnected, the feelings not his own which he could actually detect, was oddly familiar. Why, he couldn’t place, but it wasn’t a concern for now - for now, he would need to get the bird settled, and see about purchasing a perch for her to rest on while he was working - he couldn’t always have her sitting on the counter or on a display stand, after all.

Up the two went, back up the ladder to the main floor of the shop, and Nevin locked the hatch back shut behind them. The two quickly retired to the bedroom, Aphrael riding along on Nevin’s shoulder, then winging over to the foot of the bed. She promptly tucked her head under one wing and was fast asleep almost before Nevin had even finished shutting the door behind him. He stared at her for a moment, and prodded the connection between them - it was now quiescient, laying as dormant as the being on the other end. He shook his head.

“This… is going to take some getting used to.”

~Fin~