The Sound of A Crow Brings Acceptance

"Section of Empathy?" Alex asked curiously, puzzled by the term.

He reasoned that the district might be divided into sections, and this place was one of them. But why would a district need sections? How large was the Genesis District? Was there a hidden meaning behind the term? Eager for answers, Alex looked at Lydia expectantly, ready for an explanation.

"Yep!" Lydia cheerfully confirmed, offering no further details.

An awkward silence ensued, but Lydia remained unfazed, standing proudly, oblivious to her uninformative response.

"Caaaw caaaw." Alex could quite literally hear the caw of a crow flying by.

"Uhm… Lydia? Could you… maybe… explain a bit more?" Alex asked cautiously, not wanting to dampen her enthusiasm.

"Hmm? About what?" Lydia asked innocently.

"About sections, dear. You mentioned he had amnesia, right? And that he was probably from the Outer?" Linda interjected, steering the conversation back on track.

"Oh, right! Hehe, I forgot about that." Lydia chuckled, playfully sticking out her tongue and giving herself a light tap on the head before resuming her explanation. "Hmm, it's a bit complicated to explain what the sections actually are, but the simplest explanation I can give is that each section represents one area within our Genesis District, with each housing one of our communities."

"I see, so there's more than one community residing in the Genesis District then. I assume the community staying here is called 'Empathy' then?" Alex inferred from the simple explanation, leading to his next question.

"Close! We're called the Empaths, named for the empathic nature of our abilities," Lydia proudly clarified.

She began strolling down the street, hands clasped behind her back, appearing lost in thought before resuming in a more instructive tone, "From apathy to telepathy, we have a wide range of people with many different empathic abilities here. But these days, we also welcome other people from other communities, as long as they desire to live more peacefully; they're welcome to join us."

"Oho ho ho, what a splendid explanation, dear. I'm proud of you," Linda exclaimed, rushing up to Lydia to envelop her in a warm hug before turning them both to face Alex.

"Hey Alex, dear, care to guess our abilities?" Linda asked eagerly.

Alex paused momentarily, his mind racing as he delved into memories and interactions with Lydia and Linda. Surprising even himself, his memories were extraordinarily vivid and clear, as if he was reexperiencing each moment of his memories. Barely managing to maintain composure from the sudden flood of information, he briefly pondered the strange occurrence but dismissed it, determined to enjoy the warmth of this welcoming family.

"Hmm. If I were to guess, Lydia, you possess the ability to discern if someone is lying, and Linda, you can sense people's emotions," Alex guessed.

Lydia, Linda, and Jeb froze in astonishment at Alex's answer.

"Eh? Hmm? Did I guess right?" Alex questioned, taken aback by their reactions.

"Wow! How did you know? You're amazing, Alex!" Lydia exclaimed, her face lighting up with admiration at Alex's astute guess.

"What about mine, young man? What's my ability?" Jeb inquired curiously as if challenging Alex to test his deduction skills.

"Uhh…" Alex pondered for a moment, the faint visions returning to him, though not as vividly as before. He ventured his best guess, "Do you perhaps possess the ability to keenly sense your surroundings beyond your sight or without looking?"

"Hmm. That's right, I can indeed, which shocked me greatly that you might have slipped past my senses the first time we met." Jeb confirmed with a nod, visibly impressed, before posing, "Do you perchance possess the ability to see another person's ability?"

Before Alex could respond, Jeb suddenly remembered something and quickly said, "Ah, right. I assume you wouldn't know because of the amnesia."

Feeling a bit guilty, Alex quickly clarified, "Actually, I remember my abilities. But they don't include seeing another person's ability, I don't think."

"Oh! What ability do you have?" Lydia asked excitedly, stepping closer to Alex, eager to see what he could do.

"Uh, yeah, I can do this." Alex took a few steps back and began to turn his skin invisible, vanishing in front of Lydia within moments.

"Whoa! Where did you go, Alex?!" Lydia exclaimed, waving her hands around, trying to find him.

"I'm still here, but this doesn't last very long, you see, and the moment I move…" Alex started to move his hand, expecting it to reappear, but to his surprise, it remained invisible. Even more astonishing, his clothes had also turned invisible. Not expecting this, Alex let out a worried gasp.

"Eh? Alex? You okay? Where are you?" Lydia asked, hearing the gasp and growing concerned.

"Ah, no, I'm fine. I'm still in front of you." Alex reached out to touch Lydia's shoulder. As soon as he did, he felt a twitch in his hand and became visible again.

"Oh! There you are!" Lydia exclaimed, seeing his hand reappear. She was completely unfazed and held onto his hand.

The soft touch of her hands made Alex nervous, and almost instantly, he turned visible entirely again.

"Cool! You can turn completely invisible! I'm sure you'll be popular with the Scabs!" Lydia exclaimed cheerfully, tightening her grip on his hand.

"Really? Haha. What are the Scabs like?" Alex asked, still nervous and trying to mask it by focusing on the unfamiliar term.

"Caw. We can show you if you'd like to come by, newcomer," a raspy voice suddenly answered.

"Wh-what? Who?" Alex spun around to locate the speaker but saw only Lydia and her family.

"Caw caw caw. Up here, newcomer. On the roof," the raspy voice continued, seemingly amused.

Looking up immediately, Alex's breath caught in his throat. A silhouette stood on the roof, dark and mysterious, the sun behind it creating a bright halo. The bright light hid the figure's identity, making the silhouette's outline even more apparent against the sky. As Alex squinted, he could make out feathers rustling in the breeze, forming wings and thin, spindly legs that seemed almost too fragile to support the large, imposing body. Finally, his eyes followed the outline of the head, which looked like the pointed tip of a wizard's hat, giving the figure an eerie, magical feel.

 "Oh, hi, Crawson! What brings you here?" Lydia called up, greeting the strange figure on the roof.

The figure on the roof, now identified as Crawson, spread his arms wide, the feathers between them and his body rustling majestically in the wind. Crawson stepped off the ledge with fluid grace, gliding down to the ground as smoothly and effortlessly as a crow in flight.

As Alex watched in awe, Crawson descended gracefully to the ground, his form striking and otherworldly. Black feathers covered his arms and body, glistening in the sunlight and rustling softly with each movement. A crow mask adorned his face, reminiscent of a plague doctor's mask, and combined with the comically large black wizard's hat, it formed an unsettling and mysterious aspect of his already cryptic appearance. Through the mask, Alex could see his piercing, sharp, yellow eyes that seemed to glow with an unnatural light. Long, talon-like fingers extended from his hands, clutching the air as if he could snatch secrets from the wind. Finally, even further enhancing his mystique, on his chest emanated a luminous ethereal core, resembling a moon in shape, its undulating contours and bumps intricately defined, throbbing with ghostly energy that irresistibly captivated the gaze.

Alex couldn't help but feel a mix of fascination and unease as Crawson's enigmatic figure loomed before him, exuding an air of mystery and quiet power.

"Caw. Greetings, young Lydia. Thank you for your patronage at the market yesterday. I hope the vegetables were to your liking." Crawson greeted Lydia as he bowed gracefully, like a merchant speaking to a princess.

"Ah, they made for wonderful sandwiches. Thank you, Crawson, for always helping us find such fresh food." Lydia also bowed to Crawson, thanking him with the same gracefulness he exuded.

"Caw. You are most welcome, young Lydia. I always aim to please my loyal customers. And, of course, greetings to you, Master Jeb and Sister Linda." Crawson turned to Jeb and Linda and bowed again; Jeb bowed as well while Linda did a curtsy.

"It's been a while, Crawson. I do apologise for the troublesome request the other day. After all, we had to find out where this young man was from." Jeb pats Alex on the back, hinting at him to greet Crawson.

Getting the hint, Alex bowed and greeted Crawson in the most formal way he could think of, attempting to match Crawson's tone. "Ah, greetings to you, Mr Crawson. My name is Alex. I have been graciously saved by…uh, Master Jeb and his family, and I am most pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Caw. Ah, a young man of grace and culture. I am most impressed. It is indeed a pleasure to make thy acquaintance, Mr Alex." Crawson bowed again, but as he did so, his eyes narrowed, and he put his hand on his core before posing his question, "Caw. Pardon my curiosity and condolences if I have heard true, but I have heard news from Master Jeb that you have lost your memory?"

"Ah, yes, indeed I have, Mr Crawson. It is most unfortunate, but I must still appreciate my fortune because I am alive and walking. I can't thank Master Jeb and his family for it, for without their help, I would probably be lying still and unmoving elsewhere." Alex said as he faced Jeb, their faces filled with looks of surprise and awe.

Crawson raised his head and said with an impressed tone, "Caw. A most wonderfully positive attitude. I am most pleased at thy meetings with Master Jeb and his family. That being said…" He raised his hand, reached into his wizard hat, pulled out a shiny stone, and handed it to Alex. "I would love for thee to visit my humble abode soon."

Alex received the shiny stone with both hands and asked curiously, "What may this be, Mr Crawson?"

"Caw. A symbol of acceptance, young Alex. I have witnessed thy invisibility and would love for thee to come and work for us Scabs sometime. We need the competence of someone with thy ability." Crawson smiled mysteriously under his mask before continuing with a joking tone, "A crow does not miss shiny gems, after all."