NOVEL WEB Chapter 27: Pecking Order
All off the Wudang and Feng celebrated the integration of Meadow, Rose, and Feathers into the group. By now it was already late morning. A few sunbeams fought their way through the smog were shining through the windows of the Eatery onto the colorful group.
The nice but clumsy human called Meadow shook the hand of the strong-looking cultivator. In the eyes of mortals, that man called Yang appears weak but he is not, at least in the terms of their species. Feathers did not see humans the way they perceive themselves. The mechanical bird looked directly into the heart of any cultivator, into their spiritual sea. It is located in the Dantian right under the navel. There he gazed at their very souls and saw the truth of the matter.
Now, did Yang scare him? Not in the slightest. Feathers was a legendary gold-ranked beast. He might still be young and inexperienced but his raw power was enough to defend himself. The old man behind the counter was another matter. Feathers knew what he was, knew who he was, and knew if he told anyone that would be the end of his short life on this earth. Not that he actually could tell anyone anything. His creators did not bestow him with a function to talk. It did not bother the little bird though. He could communicate well enough. Although he did not have anything to add to the recent discussion pertaining to the Immortals games.
The festivities continued after the girls signed the hiring contracts. Meadows eyes lusted for the money. Rose was not as excited but she was willing to help her friends out. The loud human called Kevin passed out either because he ate too much Mapo Tofu or because of the loss of his money. But he was not the only one to doze off. Several others slept on the uncomfortable table.
Meadow was joking around with Rose after she offered Feathers a single noodle. Nobody knew if mecha beasts ate, not even the bird himself. So they watched excitedly. After observing the humans eat he wondered why sustaining their body looked so enjoyable, so he tried it himself.
He didn’t think he had something like a digestive tract but he was not particularly scared that a noodle would kill him. The little bird tentatively bitt into the slippery noodle, slurped and slurped until it was all gone. A warm feeling filled his belly and a starchy, lightly salty taste filled his tiny beak. “Tasty,” he thought while tweeting excitedly. After running a quick check-up on himself he figured out that the ingested carbohydrates were burned and turned into energy. Not as efficient as his natural source of energy, light, but way tastier!
The girls enjoyed feeding Feathers every kind of food until they too fell asleep from exhaustion. From this point on he loved food. He was not good with the chewier stuff like meats but he loved everything soft and sweet. Yes, Feathers was quite happy to be alive, because to be alive meant to eat.
He was programmed with basic knowledge about this world. The origin of the mecha beasts, their purpose, why Heaven’s Gate was established, and why the humans were allowed to cultivate, all that he knew. Knowledge did not stop him from staying with the humans, though. It leads to the opposite. He was intrigued by the struggling mortal beings. Why do they try so hard? If they meet an early grave either way? Feathers did not understand. Like all mecha beasts, he thought life eternal but disposable at the same time. There was meaning in death. The pack acts for the benefit of all. But humans... their deaths were mostly meaningless they fight only for themselves, and they die by themselves not accomplishing anything. It truly is a pitiable state of mind but one that provides them to enjoy life. And that’s why Feathers decided to stick around. He wants to enjoy life as well. Sure, at some point he had to meet his creators but they can wait. They are eternal after all.
Everyone was asleep on the uncomfortable-looking table. Some in midst of the hellish Mapo Tofu, some found a dry spot and the Baldy slept cuddling with the other loud guy, the one called Grey. Only behind the rough-looking counter was movement. Uncle Hong still was working although slowly and carefully as not to wake his tumultuous guests.
Their eyes met. If the bird could sweat he would have. He was scared. The old man approached him and offered a calloused finger to jump on. For a moment Feathers thought it a trap. But that personage would not need any underhanded tricks. Those are reserved for the weak ones. And that one was not that.
The bird jumped on and together they left the restaurant. They did not go far though. Together they sat down on a bench. Uncle Hong left his apron in the kitchen. Now, he wore a dark blue polo shirt. He fished out a pack of sutras and a lighter out of his breast pocket. He fought with the wind for a while before he lit one of his stinking sticks.
“I want to make one thing clear.” The scary old man exhaled slowly while talking. “You better behave while you are here. As I understand you are accompanying that girl with the two spirits? Yes, you actually might be of benefit to her. But I repeat myself, behave. Or else…” He inhaled for a long time and flicked the sutra into the smog-filled sky. “Well, I have no issues with sending scrap metal back to your builders.”
Feathers nodded his little head as fast as he could. His creators did not forget to program self-perseverance into him which includes a certain amount of fear. It reached its maximum interacting with this venerable.
“Good.” Uncle Hong smiled, satisfied with this reaction. He stretched his arms. His shoulders popped audibly. “I’m getting old I guess.”
“Was that a joke?” Feathers thought. He would have raised an eyebrow if had one.
“Let's go back in. Get on little one.” He did as he was told. For him, Uncle Hong was the alpha of this pack of humans. They did as he commanded. If Feathers wanted to be part of the group he had to bow down to the authority. Looking at the spiritual energy of the stern old man he thought he might not have an issue. Well, the bird would be fine with being the number two of this pack.
A few hours went by until Rose and Meadow woke up from their deep slumber. Their exhaustion clearly was still there but they wouldn’t get the rest they needed here. They quite audibly thirsted for a soft bed.
“I want to sleep and never wake,” said Rose while yawning like a cat. She infected Meadow who barely put her hand in front of her mouth. “Where do you live anyway, Rose?”
“Me? Well, I lived with the Church! Now, that it's gone, uhm, here?” Rose scanned the room to find a supporting face. Instead, her eyes met Uncle Hong who shook his head. “I guess not.”
“Just sleep at my place for today. Let’s think about it tomorrow,” suggested Meadow while rubbing her eyes.
Feathers was excited to see new places. He hopped on his favorite spot, Meadows shoulders, and was ready to go. He waved his wing indicating, ‘forward! To Adventure!’ He did not think that they understood because Meadow just petted him. It felt good though, so he did not complain.
“Do not forget that you have to work off the repair cost of the damage you two did to the bath. I want you two here as soon as you’re rested.” Uncle Hong stopped them before they exited his Eatery. Rose turned around and stamped indignantly. “Why me? I had nothing to with that!”
“I don’t care. As I understand you two are a team now, right? Then act like one! Goodbye!” He waved us off like swatting at a fly and ended the discussion. “But I... Ouch!” Before Rose could argue Feathers hit her forehead. He won’t stand for disrespecting the pack leader. As the number two, it was his responsibility that the footsoldiers respect the pecking order.
Rose stared at the little bird as if she wanted to start a fight but to the surprise of all the beast stared back with the same intensity as if it tried to say ‘got a problem?’. It looked so cute though that it made the girls giggle, leaving Feather, once again, confused.
That was not todays last surprise for Feathers. Meadow and Rose declined any offer to bring them home. They did not want to impose on the others any longer. Also, the gang could use some sleep themselves they argued. Feng, who approached them reluctantly agreed and let the three go.
Uncle Hong’s Eatery was located in Zhang San. To the north of it lay the neighboring district Sympathy, where the new home of Feathers was located. He expected to live in a fortress, a palace, or at least a tower but even on the thirty-minute walk to Sympathy, he did not see one of those buildings. Although extremely high towers were a bit farther to the north. If his data is still accurate it should be the Kunlun Heights.
While Zhang San mostly was composed of middle-class businesses that had housing right above them Sympathy looked wanting. Buildings in need of renovations, new paint, and sometimes even doors were to be found everywhere. Graffiti and tags were lining the streets marking them the territory of gangs and lesser sects. That is not what Feathers expected to see. No such data was programmed. He did not know humans could live in such destitute conditions. But he could adept. That, after all, is a special trait that all mecha beasts share.
The trio arrived at Meadows dorm. They spotted an elderly woman sweeping the entrance. “It’s not top class but is properly maintained,” thought Feathers while giving the caretaker something like a thumbs up.
“Ah, girl, long time no see. Enjoyed your holidays? Your looks say so… Although when did you arrive? The newsfeeds were full of the mecha beast invasion and the destruction of Earth Gate.” The old woman wanted to scold Meadow but was contemplating the news and switched from a mocking mood to a worrying one.
Meadow lifted both her hands as if to reassure the caretaker. “No, no, I came, uhm, by cybersteed. I was lucky, haha.”
“I see. That’s good then. Do you or your friend need any food?”
“No we’re good, thanks senior!” Meadow bowed smilingly.
“Ah! Always so polite it’s disgusting really,” said the old woman while her face as smiling widely. But seeing Feathers she frowned. “Is that a toy or a pet? Pets are not allowed here.”
“No, senior.” Rose jumped in before Meadow could stumble through a lie. “It’s a toy I brought from home. My dad is a toymaker and he gifted me this prototype. It even has artificial intelligence. Although I suspect it’s not too smart. But it certainly is cute isn’t it?”
“I guess… Well, enough chit-chat. See that you girls wear something decent next time or I will give you a pair of my clothes.”
“We will! Thanks, senior!” The girls went into the expansive building. It was part of a complex which in total housed 1200 students on a stipend, regardless of which school they attend. Every building had two hundred rooms, with Meadow living in Room 1102, her room was located in the sixth building. Twenty floors, with ten rooms, these were not small buildings by any means, but they were dwarfed by the gigantic towers in the background.
The three of them arrived at the eleventh floor by elevator. Rose was giddy to see how the room looked like but Feathers didn’t expect much. He already deducted that Meadow had not the means to support a lavish lifestyle, which was okay for him. He would manage, or so he thought.
A resounding silence was filling the tiny room. “I didn’t expect so many cats,” said Rose finally while taking a seat between two cat plushies.
There was not much furniture in the room. Just a bed, a closet, a desk, and a single chair. But somehow the room was full anyway. That is because it was to the brim-full with feline merchandise.
“Aren’t they cute?” Meadow started a monologue as to which cat plushie, picture, or figure was her favorite.
The bird expected destitution but not that he had to live beside reproductions of his greatest natural enemies. Feathers did promise to behave himself but he contemplated that a controlled flame might improve this living situation.
He sighed and thought, “I’m a mighty gold-ranked beast. I can adept. I will. Probably. Someday.”
