CHAPTER 318: CHAPTER-318

If you buried anyone else underground for twenty minutes, they’d be dead by now, she thought. But this sparrow... still alive? Truly, these beastmen were something else. What the hell are they even made of?

The sparrow, now regaining a bit of strength after gulping down a few drops of water, glared at Kaya with an expression that screamed disbelief. This woman—this bitch—buried me alive last night! Thank god there had been some space in the bag, enough for him to breathe a little. If not for that tiny pocket of air—and his desperate fluttering wings that stirred some movement—he would’ve suffocated.

And this woman... she didn’t even remember.

Who the hell forgets a living bird inside a bag?

He trembled, glaring harder. His eyes practically asked, how could you even forget a person inside a bag?

Kaya awkwardly avoided his gaze, but seeing he was still glaring, she finally snapped, glaring right back.

"It was your fault," she said bluntly. "How many times have I told you to stay with the group? But no—you had to hide in the bag."

With that, she turned away and walked off to gather a few things, muttering under her breath.

The sparrow just stared after her, his beak slightly open in disbelief. Unbelievable. She buries me alive and now it’s my fault? He was sure of it—this woman was insane. He’d hidden in the bag because she told him to rest there!

Veer and Cutie exchanged glances and looked at the sparrow with open sympathy. Their eyes practically dripped pity.

The sparrow froze, even more dumbfounded. Oh, sure—now they feel bad. These bastards didn’t forget a single grain of rice when packing up, but they forgot me? Really?

All he could do now was glare, wings trembling with frustration. Because deep down, he knew if he pushed his luck and annoyed them, they’d probably leave him here. And after last night—he’d heard those growling geethers in the distance—he knew if Kaya hadn’t buried him, he’d have been dead meat already.

So maybe, just maybe, it was both a curse and a blessing. Or... a blessing disguised as a curse.

.

.

.

As they took to the skies again, Kaya sat on Veer’s back.

At first, she thought it was strange—how she had grown used to flying like this. Maybe it was because she’d been on his back too many times now, or maybe she’d just learned to trust the rhythm of his wings. Either way, the fear she once had was fading, replaced by something softer.

Now, whenever Veer flew, she sometimes felt... sleepy.

Not the heavy, dangerous kind of sleep, but the light, drowsy feeling you get on a quiet train or a late-night metro—when the world hums softly beneath you. The steady beat of Veer’s wings, the cool air brushing against her face, and the faint rise and fall of his body under her hands—it all felt strangely calming.

She wasn’t worried about falling anymore. Veer’s flight was smoother now, not like the first few times when every gust of wind made her heart jump. She could sit still for hours, body alert, mind half-dozing but never quite asleep. It was scary, in a way—knowing that one real drift into sleep could send her tumbling—but still, her eyelids would grow heavier each time.

This time, though, Veer insisted that Cutie sit behind her.

He didn’t want to take any risks. If Kaya fell asleep and slipped, Cutie would be there to catch her.

Neither Veer nor Cutie argued about it; in fact, both agreed a little too quickly. After all, who in their right mind would refuse a chance to sit close?

Kaya protested, of course. She said she wouldn’t sleep.

But Veer just looked back at her and said in a quiet, matter-of-fact tone,

"There are still hours before we reach any nearby tribe. It’s better if you rest. Your body needs it."

And somehow, when he said it like that, she didn’t have the heart to argue anymore.

Slowly, lulled by the cold air and the steady rhythm of Veer’s wings, Kaya began to drift into that delicate half-sleep, where the world felt soft and unreal. Cutie, behind her, held her tightly at the waist, his grip firm enough to anchor her, yet gentle enough not to disturb the comforting sway of Veer’s flight. She let her body relax, conserving energy she didn’t yet realize she would need.

Even in her drowsy state, Cutie’s gaze never left Veer.

"Fly as fast as you want," he murmured. "I won’t let her fall."

Veer responded with a sharp, triumphant screech and surged forward. If earlier he had flown like a steady car along a winding road, now he was a bullet train ripping across the skies. The mountains and rivers beneath them blurred into streaks of color; the trees melted into green ribbons. Kaya’s half-sleeping mind registered it like a dream—fast, dizzying, and impossible—but safe. Somehow, impossibly, safe.

The sparrow, cradled in Kaya’s arms, trembled violently. Tiny claws dug into her shirt as he frantically burrowed into her pocket. If I even peek outside, I’ll vanish somewhere I’ll never recognize...

Kaya’s eyelids fluttered as fragments of the world danced past her: a glint of sunlight on a river, the curve of a mountain, the streak of clouds whipping by. Everything was fluid and surreal, like a painting in motion, yet beneath it all, the steady pressure of Cutie behind her and Veer beneath her anchored her like an invisible safety net.

As Kaya closed her eyes completely and drifted into sleep, she could almost hear the thoughts buzzing around her: "What an idiot—falling asleep like this, really?" Blah, blah, blah.

But Kaya had noticed something. Whenever she wasn’t watching, whenever she wasn’t around, these two dropped their carefully constructed facades and acted... normal. The kind of normal that could be dangerous if underestimated.

And that made her curious—more than curious, actually. Kaya wanted to know what these beings truly were. People? Monsters? Something in between? Whatever they were, she wasn’t satisfied seeing just the surface. She needed to see the truth beneath.