Cuervo paced in front of the shop rapidly, taking brisk steps with his eyes strangely focused. He ignored some of the stares he got from the city people, which was mostly made up of humans. Other races were rarely, if ever, seen around the area. Many children had already come up to him with wondering eyes before they were pulled back by their parents.

The city was one of the largest he had ever come across. Night time did not seem to exist in such a place as incredibly bright lanterns lit every part of the streets. Buildings towered over him like menacing giants, some so incredibly tall he wondered if the sheer weight of their structure would one day cause them to topple over. In every conceivable area of the city, there was always a crowd of people, making it virtually impossible to find any quiet places for one to recollect their thoughts. Though Cuervo did enjoy exploring the vast, complex terrain of such metropolises, he did not like staying in them for very long and was already impatient to leave the place for a much more calmer town. That is after he finished with what he came for.

The canine-like being raised his head toward the sky briefly. The sun was already setting down the horizon, making him resume his pacing with more vigor. What was taking her so long? It was well past the twenty minutes she had promised! Giving an inward sigh, he halted in his steps, waving his short tail as he counted the minutes, shutting his eyes. He was apparently so deep in thought he did not notice a stray cat trying to gently paw at his moving tail as if it was a plaything.

When he heard the little bell ring, signaling the opening of the shop door, he gave a small start, making the feline scurry away. He tried to mask his impatience when his companion strolled up to him with unhurried steps. Cuervo could see how the imp moved with a carefree motion, seeming to not feel the weight of the large brown paper bag she carried in one of her short arms. When she reached up to him, she raised her eyes to his face and gave a large, beaming grin. “Hey! I didn’t think you’d still be here!”

Cuervo had to restrain a twitch he could feel coming. But he knew it required extreme patience when dealing with her. He looked down at the imp girl, who was not even half his height, her head only coming up to his thighs. Her blue, furry tail swung behind her in a playful manner, emphasizing her obvious mood. She was too much like a child, albeit a very devious child.

“Hmm! You look pretty hungry.” With still the buoyant grin on her face, she plopped her bag to the stone ground. “Well, no need to worry. The great and talented Lytha has provided you, Curvo, with some yummy food! All under the price of $20.99.” She nodded proudly, but one side of her mouth moved slightly. “It would’ve been $18.50 though if the owner had just given me the mangos for free. They were all pretty rotten anyways.”

The other simply became silent for the moment, then shook his head. “It’s Cuervo.”

“Eh?” The imp named Lytha said loudly, cleaning out one of her ears with her pinky.

“My name is Cuervo. I thought a month would be long enough to remember a name.”

“Well, sorry,” she shrugged casually. “I don’t have the best memory for stuff like that.”

Lytha was one of the strangest characters that Cuervo had ever come across. Her clothes, consisting of a red traveling dress, were shabby and streaked with dirt. The hem of her dress was quite “poofy” as he termed, not being entirely sure what other word he could use to describe it so. Her hair was tied at both sides of her head, appearing as if twin tufts of black hair sprouted from her skull adamantly. Pointed ears peeked out from her tresses like sharply pointed towers, ears that she used to show off her unique talent of wiggling them. She was doing so right now, hoping to crack open a smile on Cuervo’s face. It rarely worked however, knowing that despite his looks, she considered the dog creature simply too boring. Her long furry tail, that if measured would show to be twice as tall as she was, bobbed up and down behind her, matching the rhythm of her wiggling ears.

Imps were rare, but troublesome. No one knew where they originated from, and the imps themselves seemed to not know as well, or care much about it. Many had termed them as a useless people, their only skills in the fields of thievery and stealth. Lytha always steamed when people would call her a petty thief at first glance, for she had an occupation that was much more befitting of her “elite talents,” as she called them. Cuervo had not exactly seen these talents just yet, but he had learned to take Lytha’s claims with a grain of salt.

“Sooooo, did you miss me?” She blinked up at him, her dark eyes shining. It might have created the ‘cute’ effect she desired if it weren’t for the slit, cat-like pupils she had. Never seeing many imps in his lifetime, Cuervo wondered if it was a common trait among their kind.

Before he answered, his red eyes slowly lowered down to the bag that the girl had carelessly dropped, wondering dimly when was the last time he had had a juicy mango.

The imp frowned, her ears as well as tail drooping in disappointment. “Hey! It’s rude when you ignore a beautiful lady such as myself!” She puffed out her cheeks, wanting to show off her displeasure as much as she could.

Cuervo picked his head up, brought out by his hungry reverie. “Oh, sorry…” Then remembering the long wait he had to endure, he also frowned, looking down at her. “But it’s also rude to keep a hungry friend waiting outside for over an hour. A very…very…hungry friend. Any longer and my stomach would have eaten itself.”

“Don’t worry, we can always get you a new one.” She nodded, believing it was the simplest task in the world. “Anyways, I think you’ll be very pleased at what I got especially for you. Even the yucky tomatoes that…are…”

Her voice gave out as she watched her canine companion rummaged through the large bag, pulling out any random piece of food and stuffing his mouth. He ate voraciously, his sharp teeth tearing through even the tough exterior of the pineapples easily. He took on his dog nature, eating his meal rapidly, sometimes not even taking the time to chew, as if afraid someone would take his precious condiments away from him. It was probably true, for his eyes shifted in all directions, watching for any intruders that would dare steal from him.

Wide-eyed, Lytha sat on the ground, getting more dirt on her dress. As she tried to reach for a piece of an overcooked turkey, Cuervo gave a warning growl in reflex. She snatched her hand back, blinking at his hostility. Then she frowned again, and gave him a hard slap atop his head, which she knew he, of course, deserved.

“Didn’t your parents ever teach you a concept called manners? Eh, Curveo?”

“Ifth Cuemmph!” The other tried to say through a fistful of food.

“Stop talking with your mouth full!

With a touch of shame on his face, Cuervo swallowed his food, taking a break from his non-stop eating. “It’s Cuervo.”

“Yeah yeah, but that’s not important. I’m quite shocked that you would growl like some savage beast at poor, innocent me.” Her eyes became watery, clasping her hands together with an apparent virtuousness.

The canine had to refrain from mentioning the imp’s own eating habits, who had once eaten an entire five-pound pig roast in ten minutes flat. But he held his tongue, recalling his growl and figuring Lytha did have a point.

“Sorry…” he said quietly, scratching behind his right ear. “That’s what happens sometimes when I haven’t eaten in three days.”

The imp caught the flippant tone in his voice, but shrugged it off for her own stomach was growling as well. “Okay, I guess I can forgive you and not have to use my assassin skills on you.” She pointed to the small, seemingly insignificant knife she always carried as a warning.

“Uh huh.” Cuervo nodded absently. The first time he had met her, she had told him she was the most successful assassin in the world. But the idea seemed a bit too absurd. While most imps were naturally agile and quick, he had trouble imagining the little creature kill another in the dark of night, hired by henchman to do a shady business.

As she munched on an already prepared chicken sandwich, his eyes stayed on the knife holstered in a belt wrapped around her waist. He had seen her use it for digging up the ground for random things, saying she could sense when important things were hidden underground. (Though all she ever found was a set of false teeth). The blade was very dull, not even fit enough to cut through bread evenly. It seemed far-fetched she would use such a weapon for her assassin business. But hey, anything was possible.

The two never bothered getting up from the sidewalk, content with eating their meal on the ground. Passers-by walked around them, looking at the strange duo with curious eyes. The stray cat from before walked around them timidly, hoping to snatch a tiny morsel before Cuervo’s growling finally scared it off. Soon the large bag that had been bursting with so much purchased food deflated, now only carrying a few items for eating another day.

Lytha gave a satisfied burp, patting her stomach. “That hit the spot! Even the rotten tomatoes weren’t so bad.”

Despite having eaten his fill, Cuervo kept rummaging through the bag. Yet he didn’t eat what was left, and just merely took them out to lay on the ground, searching through the bag some more. Clearly not finding what he wanted, he upended the bag, hoping something would drop.

Irritated, Lytha waved her tail around, squinting her eyes at him. “What’s wrong noooow?”

Silently, after seeing nothing more coming out, he set the bag on the ground slowly. He turned to the imp girl with an ominous air. There was a twitch in his eyes. “Where’s the cake?”

“Huh?” The girl cleaned out her ears for the second time.

Another twitch. His eyes had an odd glaze to them. “The strawberry shortcake that you promised to get. I gave you my own money to buy that one thing. The only money that I had.”

“Oh!” Finally realizing what he meant, she gave a smile, not taking notice of the foreboding twitch that kept repeating. “They ran out, so I couldn’t get it!”

He pointed to the shop window where some of the more lavishly prepared food was displayed. “There’s one right there,” he said quietly, indicating the large two-layered pastry, covered in rich cream and topped in the most exquisite of strawberries. “I asked you specifically to get that one.”

She followed his arm and upon seeing the dessert, she waved away his words. “Ohhhh, that. I was gonna get that one actually, but then I remembered I didn’t like strawberries and got something even better!”

Now his ears twitched at the girl’s shameless smile. “And that would be…?”

Lytha reached into her shirt, bringing forth a small object. “I got this bird whistle! Isn’t it cool?” She presented the small object in her equally small palm; a slim metal item with a loop of string running through the top to be hanged around the neck. The girl grinned, obviously very pleased.

Cuervo was obviously very not. “Why would you need a whistle?”

The girl held one finger in the air, looking at him as if he were an ignorant child. “Why, to call my bird friends. Now I can summon them to my will!” Excitedly, she stood up and put the whistle in her mouth, blowing on it until her puffed up cheeks turned red from the strain. It made no sound, supposedly sending out a high frequency for the animals to appear.

A whole minute passed with nothing extraordinary, nothing but the suffocating silence that Cuervo’s agitated presence made…until the fluttering of wings could be heard. Soon, a whole flock of birds began swooping down onto the two, their feathers swirling around them like snowflakes. Doves, pigeons, owls, even a few hawks, dove downwards in a frenzy. They perched on lampposts, pecked on the street for any spare crumbs, and sent the city people into mass confusion. As Cuervo rapidly put away the food into the bag before the feathered animals could get them, he could even hear a few people yell in fright, along with one voice going, “Ahhh! Stop pecking at my eyes!” He caught the sight of twin vultures across the street, their large wings flapping over a figure who flailed in horror.

Lytha stood proudly, a little brown sparrow sitting at the top of her head as if it would make her hair as its new nest. She spread out her arms, eyes toward the sky. “Yes, my feathered minions! Go and do my bidding! Hunt out the innocent, bring me riches, search for some tequila and…Hey, where you going?”

Cuervo had walked over to the store, his poise straight and determined. “I’m going to get   my cake.”

“But you can’t go in! Didn’t you read the sign?” She pointed at the door with a sign hanging off the doorknob, painted in bold black letters, No Dogs Allowed. “You don’t want to go breaking the law now.” Her voice had a singsong lilt to it.

“Don’t care,” he simply said, continuing to walk toward it.

“Why do you want that cake so bad?” Lytha said, hands at her hips. “You know, I’ve noticed lately that you have an unhealthy obsession with sweets. If you don’t watch out, you’re gonna lose all your teeth and get some bad diabetes-”

Cuervo rounded to face her, red eyes wide in a strange, maniacal glaze. “CAKE…NOW…” Again, he twitched, trying with all his strength to hold back his insane anger at not getting his most wanted treat.

Lytha stepped back, the sparrow from her head flying off rapidly, afraid that the scary dog person would gobble it up. Gulping nervously, the imp gave a weak smile, now taking the situation a little more seriously. “Umsuregorightaheadbuddywhateveryouwant!” She squeaked out her words with no pauses, his eyes freaking her the hell out.

With an a eerie quietness, similar to the calm before a destructive storm, Cuervo turned back to the shop door. Lytha never knew how the simple ringing of the little shop bell could be so frightening. Soon the canine one was gone from her sight, disappearing into the small building.

Heaving out a relieved breath, she plopped back down on the ground to wait. A moment later, her sparrow friend came back, landing on her head as if it was carpeted grass. Both pairs of dark eyes looked to each other, one imp head angling up with the other small bird head slanting down.

“Sooo…” Lytha began, feeling the need to erase the previous tension from before. “What’s it like to fly?”

As if truly understanding, the little sparrow shrugged its tiny shoulders as if saying, “Meh, it’s alright.”


~~~~~~~~


Only ten minutes had passed since Cuervo’s nearly mental breakdown. But having the shortest of attention spans, Lytha had fallen asleep sitting up with her new sparrow friend who was snoring along in its own spot.

The recognized ringing of the little bell jolted her awake. Stretching out her short arms, she rubbed her eyes from the sands of her nap. “Ehhh…I was having the best dream…I flew like the birds…and terrorized villages with my bird powers…it was great.”

Realizing someone was standing on front of her, she blinked and focused her vision.

The previous mad glaze from his eyes were gone, no trace of it to be seen. In fact, Cuervo seemed happy. Ecstatically happy, which had a scary quality all on its own. The large strawberry shortcake was held in his arms, looking quite scrumptious. He held a slice of it in his hand, taking satisfying bites out of it and licked away the cream that coated the front of his mouth.

“Hey,” he merely said, looking like a kid that finally got his favorite toy. His short tail wagged behind him happily.

“Um…” Caught off guard by Cuervo’s sudden mood change, the imp’s mind drew a blank. “So everything’s fine now?”

“Yep!” He nodded vigorously, finishing the slice in his hand before he went to scoop up another. “Here, want some?”

Unsure of what to do, the girl took the proffered treat, wondering what action would set him off to insane sweet tooth Cuervo mode again. Steering clear of the strawberries, she took a small nibble on the biscuit-made bread. It was actually quite good and refreshing. Then a thought suddenly came to her.

“Hey, wait a sec…I thought the money you gave me before was all that you had left.”

“It was.” He smiled, walking down the street, not seeing the imp’s puzzled expression.

“Then…how did you get this if you couldn’t buy it?”

As if confused by her question, Cuervo stopped, looking upwards. “Umm…well, I just simply asked for it and they gave it to me. Yeah, that’s it.” He gave another smile before resuming his walk.

“Asked?” Lytha raised an eyebrow as the sparrow pecked at the red fruits that she would not eat. “Really?”

“Yeah, all I had to do was explain to the shop owner why I needed it. He was really understanding, and even gave me some free cookies!” He held up a small white bag filled to the top with the chocolate chip treats. Cuervo sighed happily with the same ecstatic smile still on his face. “What a nice guy.”

“…Nice?” Lytha clearly remembered how the mentioned owner gave her the evil eye the whole time she was in the shop. Obviously a man beset by ignorant prejudice, she had thought. She wasn’t sure the guy would be nicer to a dog freak, so pulled by curiosity, the imp girl ran back to the store, opening the door.

“How is he able to get something for free just like that?! I mean, I‘m obviously the better looking of the two!” She opened the door in haste. “What has this world come to when those with rabies can get whatever they…Oh crap.”

The entire shop was a mess. Actually, mess was an understatement. It looked as if ten mini hurricanes had passed through the room and turned it all into chaos. She saw shelves of food completely demolished, with pieces of fruit and vegetable splattered all over the once drab walls. Customers were lying all over the place, with one even hanging onto the ceiling fan by the scruff of his shirt, completely knocked out as saliva dripped from his open mouth. Some were already up, looking dazed at their surroundings, forgetting where they were. She looked toward the back where the sales counter was, finding the shopkeeper curled into a ball, trembling in fear. She thought he could hear the whispered words, “No dogs allowed…no dogs allowed… dog man…scary…”

While it seemed that no one was grievously hurt, they all appeared to be in a state of deep horrific trauma. Her eyes caught a message on the ceiling written in blueberry filling, saying, Cookies or Death. She wondered if people from outside the street had seen the dessert massacre through the windows while she was asleep. Now that she thought about, she did remember some people steering away from Cuervo in fright just before. She had thought it was because of his red eyes, since those were freaky enough as they were.

“Wow, I never knew the chaos that a sweet obsessed psycho was capable of. Glad I wasn’t here in this slaughter.” Nodding to herself, she stepped over a groaning man who was splattered in pasta, the red sauce coating his face like blood. She dipped a finger in the pasta sauce, taking a taste. “Hmm…Needs more garlic, because you can never have too much.” And right before she left, she helped herself to some mangos that had not been destroyed, leaving with a smirk.

At least now she knew how to get free desserts in the future.