The Crow's Nest (2/2)

Haalfrin climbs back inside, and he looks over at the mountain of dirty dishes – thinking that it's time to get this eyesore out of the way. Still, he feels a little resistance in his heart because it might be awkward to start messing around with someone else's stuff.

After thinking about it a bit more, Haalfrin thinks to himself, 'I still owe Freyya for giving me that advanced body strengthening technique (among other things). She's a goddess with a sturdy body, so she likely didn't think about how a little mortal like myself can't use it safely. Still, the thought counts, and I need to do something to pay her back.'

So, Haalfrin sets up a quick sound barrier around the kitchen so he doesn't wake her up, and he starts cleaning.

He is used to cleaning his own dishes right after using them, so he doesn't quite know what to do when the food is caked on hard like a rock and the pots are stained a new color entirely.

After thinking about it for a moment, he checks to make sure the pots don't have any super difficult to replicate enchantments on them...

The only thing they have are simple durability enchantments that even he, himself could make. The pans also have a barrier spell that you can activate over the top to act like a pot lid.

So, Haalfrin uses his Alchemy magic that his master taught him, picks up a filthy pan, and dissolves it completely into its base particles; the iron forms a small ingot, and everything else floats in the air - including the food and stains.

Haalfrin leaves these materials floating in the air like that while he thinks about what to do.

He then pulls out a magic pen he keeps on himself, and he draws some calculations in the air, as well as measurements. After putting the numbers into an alchemic magic circle, the iron reshapes itself into a pan. He then spent a few minutes re-enchanting it.

Finally, he pulls out a trash can and allows all the grime to fall into it.

… He then turns to the mountain next to him and sighs. 'This is going to take a bit...'

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… After a few hours, the entire kitchen is sparkling clean.

Haalfrin looks over to Freyya, and she's still passed out – utterly undisturbed by the noise he's been making. Huh. Mind as well do some more work.

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It's only well into the afternoon when Freyya finally wakes up again. She looks around, and for a moment, she thinks she's in a completely different place. Oh wait, it's her house...

"I didn't know the floor tiles were white…" she mutters blearily.

"Funny I just found out this morning," comes Haalfrin's voice from the kitchen.

"Oh... You're still here," she yawns before flinching, turning red, then burying herself in her blankets again.

Finding someone at her house just after she wakes up is extremely embarrassing for Freyya, but she tries her best to hide it by covering her face with her blanket and pretending to yawn some more.

She then closes her eyes and thinks about the outside. The enchantments around her house let her know the time of day. 'The sun's still up? Why am I awake? Who woke me up?' she thinks to herself.

She takes a good sniff and smells something really good. "What's that?"

"Technically, it's breakfast," Haalfrin answers, "but I left some on the pot and kept it warm."

"W-where did you get the food?" Freyya has saliva dribbling down her cheek.

"Oh, that?" Haalfrin replies, "Yes, I saw your pantry. All of the food was far too old to use, so I went into the forest and gathered some eggs and killed an animal or two."

"O-oh." Freyya crawls deeper into her mountain of blankets and cries out in her heart with embarrassment; the pantry is by far the worst thing about her house!

While she's freaking out, Haalfrin's voice calls from the kitchen, "By the way, are the wildlife here dead too? Is it bad for me to eat the meat of an animal in the death realm?"

Freyya's soft voice answers back, "The animals will regenerate after a few thousand years. As for if it's safe... You have a Death Affinity, so you should be good. Anyone else would've died."

Haalfrin comes back in with a plate of food. "Here. It's still warm."

Freyya awkwardly gets up and picks up the plate of food. She looks around her completely spotless house and the sumptuous food she's eating, and she thinks to herself, 'Why would he do this? I didn't do anything special, did I?'

She then thinks about the time she sneakily gave him that draconic technique, hoping to kill him. She knew that what she did was wrong back then…

'First I try to kill him,' Freyya thinks, 'then the very man shows up, cleans my house, and makes me food.'

Just thinking about it is upsetting for Freyya. 'I'll have to repay the favor somehow so I can get this guilty feeling off my chest.'

As she's eating and brooding over her thoughts, Haalfrin chips in, "When do you usually go pick up souls? Is this your day off?"

"Oh, you should already know that my Yiir Name lets me be in many places at once," Freyya clarifies.

"Ah, yes, sorry I forgot."

Indeed, it may look like Freyya is lounging around all day, but she's constantly sending out splinters of her spirit to every world to pick up every soul. Whenever one of her mini-mes rejoins with her, she gets all of those new memories her other self made.

With these happening millions or billions of times a day... Haalfrin can imagine Freyya being exhausted and unmotivated all the time - no wonder her house is a mess.

Having this thought, Haalfrin actually feels a little sorry for her.

"So...," Haalfrin begins, "I wouldn't want to intrude for too long, but is there a way to send me back to my world? My master is looking for me right now."

Freyya briefly gets an anxious look on her face as she looks towards the hatch – shuddering in her heart.

She hasn't been outside with her true body since... well, at least a few million years. The last time was merely because she sleepwalked too, so that shouldn't count.

It's just... the sun is so bright, and the people are so irritating. Plus, she knows very well that nobody likes the goddess of war. Most cultures paint her as some sort of demon all the time.

So, Freyya just looks away and says, "I'll call Das. He'll pick you up."

Freyya gets up and tries touching her far speak crystal... only to find that it isn't working. She hasn't used the thing for over 100,000 years, and the enchantment has worn out.

This crow has nobody to talk to anyway, so why would she use the thing?

Knowing the implications of a depleted far speak crystal, She gets a mortified look on her face and quickly re-enchants it while Haalfrin isn't looking.

A few moments later, Freyya looks up at the ceiling and is about to telepathically reach out to Das… when she hears a knock on her trap door.

Of course, Freyya can feel the strong presence on the other side, but Haalfrin has no idea.

Without thinking, the mortal reaches up with his arm and unlatches the door. Standing above him is Das crossing his arms and looking down at them with a slightly displeased expression.

Freyya's face freezes, and she puts down her far speak crystal and she slowly inches away to another corner of her house.

Despite not being in his direct view, Freyya can tell Das is looking through the walls and straight at her. "So Freyya," the old man says, "if you had wanted to speak with Haalfrin, you could've just asked him… or at least picked him up from his world as I did."

The crow coughs awkwardly and calls over from the other room, "I was literally about to call you, I swear! Plus, him showing up was definitely a coincidence."

'Hmm…,' Das thinks, 'what use does Freyya have for lying at this point? It's completely obvious to me.'

Of course, Freyya really was telling the truth; she never orchestrated a meeting, and she really was about to call him over.

Das shrugs his confused thoughts away, and he holds out his hand. "So, Haalfrin… I suppose it's fine to finally get you back to your teacher?"