The sky was inmense, and it seemed endless.

He lost himself between the clouds, with his brown wings disappearing from his own gaze; a strange migration was happening, an unwilling one, and he found himself all alone. This trip would be something permanent, even if he didn't want to do it. He no longer had a place to call home.

If he returned to his house... if he did, his Clan would hurt him again. The Praefulgeo Clan was known by the strength of its members, obtained from black magic. From nothing more and nothing less than curses, hidden between chants in a language forgotten by the rest of the world. Returning there was a synonym of death.

They would remove any and all of his feathers, now appreciated by all of his being. He felt like his humanity faded more and more and- he couldn't lose his wings. They had become extensions of his soul, they were what allowed him to fly in the sky and dodge clouds as if they were nothing... they were the only pieces of freedom that North owned. His family believed that his curse would bring his pain, melancholy due to a lost part of himself, when the contrary had occurred; he had never felt so happy in his life as he felt now.

He had always been forced to be distant, always stare at the ground and act as if he weren't a man, and nobody had cared. But now that he had been turned into a bird, that he had been "cursed", he could be his true self. He could be North in peace, exploring the skies without thinking in anything apart from the wind, grateful for escaping the marriage that his parents had arranged for him without even asking him...

The wind was refreshing.

North had already forgotten for how much time he had been flying – entire days, maybe? Could a crow fly for entire days without stopping, or was it that the hours passed slowly when one was a feathered critter? Honestly, he couldn't even remember how the darkness of the night looked like, or when was the last time that he had food inside of his mouth... or, well, beak. He had been in the sky for so many hours, playing with the clouds, that his angelical wings had forgotten the path to the ground. To the place that he decided never return to...

Thinking about food made him hungry, as always. And if it hadn't been for that, the brown crow would have stayed away from the earth for longer. Hours, days; those mundane things weren't interesting anymore. He took the opportunity to play a bit more with the cottons of the sky, diving into the clouds as if they were the sea; it was fun, and he was lucky enough to not lose any feather with the sudden movements his body made. But he had to eat, he could fly again later without rushing. For now, the immense forest that was under his feet was curious and interesting.

If he still had lips, North would have smiled. With the protection of the trees, he definitely would find food, and maybe he could make a nest and find a mate... no. The bird denied with his head as soon as he figured out that his thoughts focused on that– his humanity was really fading away, and the fear of losing the ability of thinking appeared in his mind.

He couldn't even remember for how long he'd been flying, yet his muscles weren't even tired... what was happening? What was the real reason behind his new form? The boy was losing himself, his consciousness, and maybe he'd lose control of himself. Then, what was the point of freedom if he wouldn't be able to enjoy it? Even if it was his fate, North wanted to enjoy the sky and peace without any trouble, but his mind divagated even more and more into feral things, bird things.

He started to fly low, without landing, searching something edible on the base of the trees. Although, he didn't know what his species ate, not counting worms... That were absolutely disgusting. Maybe fruits, or vegetables?

"Ah, where are the basil plants?"

Basil? Wait a moment... that was someone else's voice. And they were close! They might have some food to give him, if he asked kindly. Or they might eat him, who knows.

North could see some bushes moving at his side, as if something was in them. And the unknown voice talked again, although they hadn't noticed the crow's presence yet.

"I think I used them all with my transformation spell..." the stranger mumbled, more to themselves than to be heard. Those words caught the bird's attention, and he couldn't help it but go hopping towards the voice.

Behind the vegetation, there was a pretty young man, who had black hair and honey-colored eyes. He smiled at seeing the critter, but didn't look at him for long. North had to cough (in a really weird way, that only a bird could do) so the unknown person would look at him again.

He opened his beak, and found his voice again, no matter how strange it was for the other guy.

"Did you say... transformation spell?"

The stranger opened his mouth, and was frozen for some seconds. His green tunic moved with the gentle breezes, but it took him a couple of seconds to escape that state. He carefully approached the crow, extending a hand towards him — and then, he started to hum, and something in his soft voice made North feel completely relaxed as the other man placed him on his lap.

He closed his eyes, allowing himself to be carried without resisting. The bird felt safe there, between the hands of someone he didn't know, but he carried him with such care and delicacy; it was hard to not relax. North felt warm and calm, a mix of feelings that he almost forgot...

"Yes, I said transformation spell. Why are you so interested, little one?" the unknown person asked, with a tone that seemed like a whisper. "How are you able to talk?"

"Because I'm a human," North admitted. If he had eyebrows, he would be frowned with confusion, noticing that he answered without doubt. "My name is North, of the Praefulgeo Clan, and they cursed me to make me look like a bird. I want to...

"Become a human again," the black haired boy said, with a little smile on his face. He started to get up trying to not hurt the crow, who didn't notice because of the excitement that came with meeting someone who knew what he wanted.

"Yes! How did you know...?"

The stranger laughed, grabbed a bag filled with herbs that was nearby, and started to walk through the forest without any rush.

"Everyone wants that. And it's understandable; I know exactly what happens when that kind of curse is not lifted... honestly, it's strange that you're still alive," the boy informed, denying with his head. "I'll need to do a good research on what kind of spell they used on you, but I don't think it'll take more than a few days. If we don't rush, you'll forget that you used to be a human..."

"Don't worry about the time. I don't have anything better to do."

The other person denied with his head, grabbing North in a way that allowed both of them to look into each other's gaze, letting out a long sigh afterwards.

"I have to rush. It's been a long time since someone came here, and if I can't help, what use does everything that my teacher taught me has?" he mumbled, closing his eyes for a moment. "I'm the witch of these woods, North. My responsibility is to help whoever enters here and needs a hand."

After this exchange, both of them remained in an odd silence, too uncomfortable to break it out of nowhere. North felt like he shouldn't ask anything else, even when curiosity hadn't left his gizzard – he didn't even know the name of who called himself a witch, but his mind felt in peace between his hands. It was so weird...

But well. The crow didn't have telepathy, or mind-reading spells (if those existed), so he needed to open his beak to obtain information. That was easy; the hard task was making words come out of it, that they didn't ended up stuck in his throat. It seemed like the stranger was in a bad mood after talking for a while... But curiosity was an insatiable feeling, that the crow wanted to satiate.

"How should I call you?" he finally asked, once the trees stopped covering them and they arrived to a clearing. There were huge rocks around, and North suspected that there was a cave between them... mostly because he saw something that resembled a chimney, so the end of their path was nearby.

The witch smiled once again, caressing the feathers on his head with all of the care of the world. It was easy to figure out that he hadn't seen another person in a while, judging by the happiness that a simple question caused him.

"My name is Lotus," the black haired boy replied, without stopping his steps. "Just Lotus. My mentor called me that 'cause he found me in a basket filled with those flowers when I was a baby."

"Oh. How sweet."

"He was the best. I don't know where he is now, but I'm sure he's happy."

Even if Lotus had a smile on his face, North could sense the pain and sadness combined in his voice. And, with a satisfied curiosity, he decided to be quiet during the rest of the trip.

... He figured out that, if the witch hadn't guided him to his house, he probably would have gotten lost. He saw something similar to a chimney, but only because the other boy was with him – otherwise, North would have flown over the terrain without even checking what was under his wings. The entrance of the house was between two big rocks, and the roof was covered by trees... it wasn't hard to get lost.

Inside, everything was accommodated in a rather perfectionist way; nothing was out of its place. Even if the walls and floor were made with stone, they were so shiny that one could see their own reflection on them. North also noticed a window, although the curtains made of moss and leaves hid it from outsider eyes.

"Welcome to my house, North," the witch exclaimed, with a soft smile on his lips. "There isn't much room, but I hope it's comfy enough. This can take a while.

"Are you kidding? Your house is bigger than my room!" North said, observing everything while remaining in the other boy's hands. He started to carefully fly around, just to land on the border of the table. "And everything is clean. It's awesome."

Lotus laughed a bit at seeing the crow do that. He sat at his side after leaving his herb-filled bag on another chair, with his gaze focused on the bird, who turned around to look at him too. He cleaned his own wings without thinking too much... stopping almost instantly. The witch had gotten too close, his hands almost touching North's feathers – and he cawed, more because of surprise than anything else.

"What are you doing!?" the crow squeaked after calming down, feeling a bit bad for his companion. He made space between them, with fear in his eyes.

"Sorry, sorry. I wanted to revise you, 'cause curses of this type are always lethal... I think I told you already," Lotus mumbled, playing with a strand of hair. "I should've warned you. I'm sorry."

This time, North didn't reply, he only got comfortable on the table. He got up as he saw the witch offering him some berries that had a wonderful smell, and they tasted just as wonderfully. Lotus seemed content to see the bird eating, yet neither of them said anything for a long time until the black haired boy sighed and began eating alongside his new companion. The crow looked at him with curiosity, but didn't pay him attention once he was reassured that he wouldn't get closer to him.

Perhaps North had been too dramatic, although it wasn't something that he could control. It had been his instinct, as the line between bird mind and human mind was blurring as time went by. It was something scary, as he had no idea about when his consciousness... would permanently disappear.

If he started to think too much about that, he would get even more stressed. And so, the bird closed his eyes once he finished eating, getting comfortable and ready to sleep for a while— at least that was the original plan. Lotus seemed excited about something, and couldn't stop talking.

Well, he had admitted that not many people went to the woods. It might be why he talked so much with the crow, with such a pure curiosity that resembled a child's hidden in his voice.

"North, I have a question. What did you do...?" the witch asked, without finishing his sentence. North opened his eyes and observed him for some moments, before tilting his head to a side in confusion.

"Uh... eat berries?" North mumbled, cleaning one of his wings before talking. Feathers were itchy.

"No, no. I mean, what did you do for your family to, well. For them to turn you into a crow."

North remained in complete silence as he Heard that, with his grayish eyes focused on the other boy. He denied with his head before looking to the side, as if the stones that acted as a wall suddenly became extremely interesting... He couldn't tell him the truth; it was too dangerous. But he needed to give him some information for the spell— right?

It was very likely that Lotus was exactly the same as his Clan was. Perhaps he would start mocking him, any and all kindness pushed to the side just because North was— well, himself. He didn't know the exact terms, as the information that could have reached his hands was always previously revised by one of his family members. Because they treated him as a human trophy, never respecting his opinion on anything.

(And there was no sweetness in his voice that didn't make his family scream when they heard him talk)

The witch observed him with attention, waiting for an answer without even moving his lips. In the short time that he had known him, North felt safer with Lotus than with the Clan that had been his home for twenty-two years, for some reason. It might have been the result of some spell, or... well. That was the only explanation that the crow could find.

"It's private. I'm sorry," the bird squawked, finally looking at his companion in the eyes once again. "If I tell you, you will get mad at me. Everyone gets mad."

"I won't, I promise! I just want to help you; you know? And it's okay if you don't want to tell me, there's no problem. I just want to let you know that I won't get mad."

Everyone always said that.

And nobody ever respected what they promised. So the crow let out a soft sigh, climbing the hand that Lotus had offered him, and remained silent as the witch looked for something between the materials that he had saved in his racks. Different types of dry herbs could be seen, mushrooms, and even some bones... but Lotus was still looking for something, even if North didn't know exactly what.

The boy seemed impatient even if no word came out of his mouth. He ended up snorting after searching under the curtains for a third time, denying with his head at the same time. His companion tilted his head to the side, curious about seeing him grab a bag once again.

"Well. I ran out of sunflower seeds and basil... I gotta find more. Wanna come with me?"

He didn't need to ask twice, as North had already started to flap his wings with enthusiasm.

The sky was starting to dye itself with orange when the crow and the witch finally found the plants that they were looking for. They were on a small clearing, hidden by nature itself with the help of poison ivy— and thorns and creepers. It was like the forest considered them too valuable to let them go easily.

But they did it. Night almost fell, and they were far away from Lotus' home, yet they obtained the basil and sunflowers that they needed. With this, the spell would be ready... North would be a human again! He couldn't stop fluttering with how excited he was, exploring the place that they had found without separating too much from his travelling companion, who chuckled at seeing him so happy.

"Yeah, yeah. Getting the materials is the easy part," Lotus said, extending an arm towards the crow. The bird didn't think twice before landing there, tired from flying all-day long. "We have to return. And then, we'll try everything."

"We'll try? We'll try what?"

"The spell, of course. Magic is like remedies... every person can have completely different reactions to it. The fun part is discovering which combination will be the best for you!"

North wasn't fully convinced of that, but he didn't know much about magic. He only knew how to make curses that wouldn't work if he realized them in his bird body. Lotus was smiling at him, but... there was something weird in all of that. It seemed too good to be true, and the crow didn't know if he should trust in the witch or not.

There weren't other options. It was letting that the other guy used him as an alchemic lab rat, or becoming a feral crow without memories of his past life. Even if his soul was filled with pain, he preferred being able of reading books with his own books; losing himself in thousands of letter combinations made his worries disappear for a little bit.

That was the good part of having hands. They were the only thing he missed from being a human, as he could survive without everything else; not being able to read comfortably was a torture for North. He desired to return to his normal form as soon as possible, not caring much about the doubts he had regarding the... unorthodox methods.

Well, he truly knew nothing about magic apart of cursing people around. They might not even need to hurt anyone to help him be a human again.

"Let's go, North. It's getting late, we have to find shelter. We'll return to my house tomorrow, and I'll craft the spell there," the black haired boy said, although the crow was resting on his hand. It was a reflex more than anything.

"Is it that easy? I don't understand much about this, and... I'm a little nervous," North admitted, observing his companion with all of his attention. He smiled, although that expression faded after some walking.

"Well... truth is; I need more stuff. But I have them already, I just needed basil and sunflower seeds."

Ah, of course it wasn't going to be so simple. His suspicions were true, and Lotus didn't help him in calming down — he acted mysterious and that made North trust the boy even less. Perhaps the process was painful and the witch didn't want to tell him... or there was something worse behind all of it, but the crow didn't know if those were just theories or truth.

He just observed the witch as he made a shelter, accommodating some branches so the thing would resemble a house with leaves. He started a small campfire to prepare some meat, cutting it in small pieces before offering some to his companion. It was a bit salty, yet delicious. Every single piece of food of that place had a magnificent flavor and aroma, almost like they were in a dream. North wished that he always had this much luck, it would be nice if the good spirits could always smile at him like they had done since he got to that forest. Not a single day had passed, yet he already felt calmness in a way that had never happened before.

He didn't even realize when he had fallen asleep due to the peace inside of his soul. The crow woke up in the middle of the night, with some embers still red and with the stars enlightening everything. He was covered by a warm cloth, and Lotus could be heard nearby, snoring like a bear. Perhaps that's what woke him up.

He wanted to fall asleep again, but at the same time, he didn't need to. The moon was full, and it looked beautiful that night, barely surrounded by some clouds. North decided to observe it for a while, outside of the small refuge and sitting down on a rock that was nearby, feeling the soft breezes of the night wind carefully playing with his feather. He almost felt like flying up in the sky until the sun replaced the moon, its sibling, but it was very likely that he would get lost and forget where the witch was.

Perhaps he could ask him for a "tour" around the woods. They were huge... the crow couldn't see where the forest ended apart of small clearings around, and that made him even more curious about the forest. Were there more witches around? Lotus had mentioned that the people who were turned into animals always wanted to become human again, so perhaps more people like North existed, hidden between the leafy vegetation.

But if that was the truth... why was Lotus on his own? He was really kind and talked about everything, it was impossible that he didn't like being surrounded by others. They might have done something to him, or simply, nobody else was around and whoever had been turned into a creature... had stayed like that for the rest of their lives.

Oh, hopefully not! Hopefully that wasn't the case, but the witch's loneliness didn't make sense. That subject was too personal to simply ask, at least for now... they had just met in the morning. It wasn't appropriate to pry too much, considering that Lotus had given him a place at his house.

Everything would be revealed with time. If everything went right the following day, North wouldn't abandon the witch, as he didn't deserve that kind of treatment based on how he had treated the crow even if he barely knew him.

The bird fell asleep once again, with his inner monologue helping tiredness return to his body. This time, he didn't wake up for anything, resting under the cloth that worked as a blanket as night left place for day, and wind rocked the world so carefully that it seemed like loving caresses.

He could feel the sunrays falling on top of his entire body, but the warmth wasn't what woke him up. His body moved on its own yet he was wrapped with something at the same time... he realized that it was the same thing that he had used as a cover based on how soft it was. It was good to travel in this way, yet North decided to open his eyes to avoid sleeping more.

All the trees looked the same. The only difference was a river, that was being followed by whoever was carrying him. Lotus still hadn't realized that the crow was awake, so the bird acted like that wasn't the case. He didn't know why he did it, he just felt like trying to see how much it would take his companion to realize the truth.

"North, you sleepyhead, wake up. We're at my house already," the witch said, carefully touching the animal's head, letting out a soft smile.

He didn't even realize, so that meant the game had been won even if North was the only one aware that it existed. He opened his eyes and freed himself from the blanket, fluttering around the house as his travelling companion focused on placing the materials they would need where they belonged. They were more than expected; sunflowers, basil, mushrooms of suspicious colors, dandelions... that was a lot of stuff!

"That's all, right?" North asked, squinting his eyes at seeing that the witch grabbed a sharp dagger. He relaxed once he saw that it was being used to cut the plants and mushrooms in small pieces, just to grind them in a stone mortar later.

"Well, almost everything. We need something else... but you have to get it on your own."

Oh, Lotus... always forgetting some details. Why was it so hard for him to be direct? Was it something usual of white magic users? It was like the magic that didn't hurt others, hurt oneself. How terrible...

It seemed a curse made by oneself. Or maybe the witch was simply a scatterbrained person; whichever of these options could be the correct one, and there was no way of figuring out which.

"I need some of your blood, but you have to be who injures himself. Don't worry, 'cause you'll drink it again," Lotus informed, letting out a soft sigh after talking. "We only need very little. It's so everything can be mixed."

"So this is like my Clan's magic. I knew we'd need something dark like this..." the crow said, pecking at his own chest. Even if he didn't want to obey, his companion was the only one who could help him in those moments; if he had more time, he'd look for someone else. But it wasn't possible, his mind was beginning to be consumed by a bird's animal instincts, so he had to rush and stop protesting.

"No, no! It's 'cause you need to be willing to do everything to recover your human form. Otherwise, it won't work... It's not for evil reasons, North, it's for spiritual reasons!

The creature felt something warm touching his beak, so he stopped injuring himself. Following the witch's instructions, North placed some of his own blood drops in what had been grinded beforehand. Then, Lotus mixed everything once again, and started muttering words in an unknown language... the weird mixture started to glow faintly. And it was time to eat it, before the light faded.

... as soon as North finished swallowing the strange food that the witch had given him, both of them started their wait. Some long minutes passed until something happened– the crow burped. And a weird mist came out of his beak, that soon became bigger and bigger until it covered the bird's entire body. Then, the faint mist became turquoise smoke, and North felt tears on his eyes; that's the only reason that we now know that birds can cry.

"North! Are you okay?" the black haired boy inquired once he saw that the smoke took the shape of a small sphere surrounding his companion. It was moving fast.

"Yes, I... I feel weird. My body itches everywhere."

"Don't scratch it, I'll give you some medicine later. Focus on my voice, North... you'll be okay," Lotus mumbled, walking around. They couldn't do anything apart from waiting, and so they did.

The sphere started to change size, it molded itself into a humanoid shape, with features more and more distinguishable. North didn't move at all, but it wasn't like shock would allow him to move. He only saw that whatever thing that surrounded him started to fade in intensity, as he felt that every single of his feathers fell down at the same time. And when the turquoise smoke completely faded, after a long time... instead of a crow, a young and tall man was there, of extremely short hair and brown skin.

The ex-crow didn't say anything for a while until he opened his mouth to cough. This made him look down, realizing that his chest showed more than it should– he hadn't said anything about his gender to the witch. He crossed his arms to hide himself, although he saw the red cheeks that his companion had.

"Ah... don't look at me," he said, not giving any kind of explanation. He knew that everything would be revealed sooner or later, but he felt too tired at the moment. "Could you give me something to cover myself?"

"Ah, yes, yes! Use one of my tunics, North, here," Lotus exclaimed, looking to the side while he lent some clothes to his friend, who approached to the table in search of stability. "Let me know when you're done changing."

"... Thank you," the brown haired boy mumbled as soon as he had put everything on. "Don't even think of calling me 'girl'. I appreciate that you helped me, but if you do that, I will hit you."

The witch remained in silence, until he heard that his companion fell to the ground. He went to help him immediately, without worrying in anything apart of his wellbeing. He let out a smile that reached both of his ears when North looked at him in the eyes, and this made him calm down.

"You told me you were a boy, and I'll treat you as such, dear North."

This time, it was turn for the ex-crow to smile, more relaxed that he ever was at hearing those words. There weren't many people who accepted him for who he was, so finding someone who did... it was worth celebrating, honestly. He decided to not do it just in case his companion thought he was exaggerating...

Both of them remained in silence, as North sat down on the table as his legs were still weak. Lotus was at his side, combining plants in small bundles that would later be hung up on a rope, or so he said.

The brown haired boy looked at the other one with attention, thinking... there was something he needed to know. And he finally asked, after a day in which doubt consumed his mind:

"I'm sorry if I pry too much, but there's something that gives me a lot of curiosity... You said you had made this spell many times, right?"

"Yes, exactly! To many people, but they... well. Let's say that they didn't want to stay," the witch exclaimed, playing with his hair as he talked. He was nervous.

His attitude was very strange. North knew that he didn't have to insist, as it could be something personal, but... the Brown haired boy was being a bit suspicious. He never talked about anyone, any friend, apart from his old mentor and– he was someone awesome. He had to have someone, like the people who he had helped.

But he had been on his own for a while, until North arrived. Something was weird about this...

"I want the truth, Lotus. Where are the others? Why are you alone?" the crow– no, not anymore. North had become a man again; he wasn't a bird even if he didn't remember how to use his human legs. "If you don't want to tell me, it's okay, but it's something that makes me curious.

There was a deathly silence, and the witch's smile ended up fading little by little; it was an act. His gaze was now filled with sadness, and his eyes were glassy– it wasn't hard to see that he was hiding tears. North didn't know how to feel about the sudden mood swing, so he only approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him somehow.

"Truth is... you're the only one who survived to the spell. The others died, or became feral... I couldn't save them," Lotus admitted, with his voice breaking in the last words. "I... North, I'm so happy that you're still here! Thank you so much for believing in me!

The brown haired boy didn't know what to say, surprised by that information. He already suspected that something odd was happening there, as his companion was too good to be completely honest — or at least that was what the ex-crow thought. With time against him, he had decided to ignore the red flags, but now...

It wasn't like he had somewhere to go. Perhaps he could ignore his old suspicions, knowing well that the past spells hadn't worked. The magic of the Praefulgeo Clan, that he carried in his blood, might have been the reason of the newfound success. Also, Lotus seemed genuinely happy to see that it had worked... he couldn't abandon him now.

Even if he wasn't completely sure about his decision, North ended up staying in the little forest cottage. Maybe he would regret it, or not; only time would reveal that.