67 Not So Welcome

Mina stood outside the old man's room. The climb up the flight of stairs calmed her down a bit and the collar was on its best behavior after her outburst.

Shortly after, she heard the stairs creak followed by the sound of footsteps.

The door to the old man's room was closed and instead of nudging it open, she decided to wait for her human. Standing proud like an emperor waiting for a servant to announce his presence, she waited with a smile in her face.

Now in a better mood, Mina couldn't help but bare her teeth while staring at the man who was now on his way towards the room.

Mina heard footsteps before her and moved her tail in glee when she spotted the man's familiar figure. The general looked down on her and when he did, she cranked her head towards the door as if telling him to go on and make a move. As if understanding her meaning, the man proceeded to open the door.

"Yes, human. Treat me like your emperor." The proud meows echoed in the halls just when another set of footsteps were heard.

"Boss!"

Mina turned when she heard the excited squeaks and Tarou was standing with two paws up in the air. She looked at Tarou and after giving him a slight nod, walked inside the room as if she was on a red carpet.

As if by coincidence, the man was seated on a chair facing the door and smile when he saw her.

"That's a beautiful collar."

Mina could feel the collar beam with pride. For some reason, she felt like the collar has been more active now that she's interacting with more people. It was like the collar had a life of its own. To make matters worse, it seems to have access to her consciousness. There was no way to plot against it and she knew that it was only a matter of time before the collar acts up again.

When Barca entered the room with an excited Tarou, the old man looked at Jadon who was standing beside him.

"Serket will arrive shortly."

The words appeared to be carrying such weight and Jadon nodded in understanding. Mina simply observed everyone's demeanor.

'It seems like something happened while I was out of town, what could it be?'

While Mina looked at the people in the room with an inquisitive look on her face, everyone settled down and took their place around a small table in the room. The old man lit a small lamp and placed it on the table and Mina came closer to join the rest of the group. As if on cue, she heard loud flapping sounds followed by the window shutters closing with a loud noise.

Darkness descended on the room and the only source of light was the lamp in the middle of the table.

When Mina focused on everyone around her, the first thing she saw was a feathery creature standing close to the lamp.

Moving closer and jumping on the old man's lap, she observed the newcomer. The bird's face came in a bright yellow hue but the abdomen had a light green color.

Tarou who was still previously perched comfortably on Barca's hand suddenly appeared alert and on guard. The bird was flapping its wings slowly as if trying to get rid of dust while walking around the table.

While making these small movements, Mina noticed the bird's colorful feathers, which were also yellow with black patches. The tail had multiple color layers from dark blue to bluish-grey to greenish-black. She couldn't help but marvel at how majestic the creature looked while observing the people in the room with its clear grey eyes.

"We're all here."

The old man's words confirmed Mina's suspicion. The bird was the one called Serket.

"Grandpa, make this quick. I have to attend to official soul business." The sound mimicked human language and Mina couldn't help but feel impressed. Carrying itself with arrogance, the feathered creature paused close to the general, just a few inches away from Mina who was now standing to the old man's lap to observe the bird whose eyes paused when it saw her.

"That collar."

The squawk caught Mina's attention. The bird had its eyes dead set on the collar hugging her neck and it appeared to be looking with her in disdain. The bird's tone did not sit well with her and Mina couldn't help but feel defensive.

"I know, it's a beautiful collar and red is my color."

Meowing back rolling her eyes, Mina couldn't help jump on the table to get a better look at the bird. The old man gave Mina a gentle pat as if telling her to calm down but she couldn't help but give Serket the eye.

"And this is?"

The parrot directed the question to the old man but before he could say anything, Mina hissed back.

"Devin sent me."

'How dare this parrot talk to be like I'm some unwanted guest.'

"Why would he give you that collar?"

Mina was taken aback.

"What do you mean you an annoying parrot? It's not like I requested that Oh So Mighty Devin guy to hand me an annoying contraption."

"That..."

"Serket, this --"

The old man intercepted, wanting to diffuse the tension in the room but Serket flew towards Mina and pecked her.

"Boss, look out!"

Mina heard the loud squeak warning her and saw a sharp beak coming towards her at the same time.

'Arrrggghhhhh. This arrogant bird was attacking her for no reason!'

On impulse, Mina felt her feet leave the ground and jumped on Serket with her mouth ready for an attack. But before she could bite him in anger, she felt something intercept her and hold her body back. Mina tried to move but someone was holding her tightly. Annoyed she let out a furious hiss and came face to face with the bird who pecked her nose gently.

"Scram kitty!"

The two creatures - a black cat and a flamboyant bird - both an angry expression.

Not wanting to give in, Mina meowed wider and fiercer and the bird had to move back.

"Scared now?"

"Your breath reeks. I had to get some air."

Mina bated her teeth and studied the bird who was flapping one wing while covering its waiting for the right time to jump for the kill.

"Parrooooooottt...."

Before she could, she felt a soft tap on her head.

"Serket!"

The general's loud voice caught Mina off-guard and she couldn't help but smile at the parrot who instantaneously backed down after being reprimanded.

"We have more important things to deal with."

When Mina looked at the person holding her, she could see him looking at her intently as if telling her to clean up her act.

"Behave."

Mina couldn't help but obey and relax while staring at the parrot.

'You, just wait! You will look better on a stick!'

Realizing what just happened, Mina moved to look at the general again and glared at him, slapping his hands off her body but he wouldn't budge.

'Was this man treating her like a dog?'

Her anger was in the middle of flaring up again when she heard the old man speak.

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"Jadon is right, we need to investigate the anomaly in Covin."

The statement was like a bucket of cold water and Mina's anger disappeared. Of course, she had better things to do than wage war with a parrot.