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Parrot is a lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse stands on the edge of the rocky islands, on the northwestern bound between the ocean and land. He can see landscape from afar, how mountain ranges reigned across the edge of his sight.
The waves of the ocean rock against eachother, back and forth, crashing against the lower walls of the lighthouse. Parrot leans against the railings of the light, as the sun remains shrouded by the clouds. The sky is a ghastly-grey, but still, not a single drop of rain comes.
A familiar flapping of heavy, powerful wings. Something drops on the floor next to him, an iron sword stained with blood.
Parrot picks it up.
"I know you're up there, Vortex." Parrot says, looking up at the dragon that stops by sometimes.
Vortex descends down from the roof, stolen golden jewellery lining his arms and body. He's still pretty stained with the blood of a man.
"Why do I even bother hiding." Vortex mutters out before standing next to him. "Anyways, so, someone tried killing me again."
"And?"
"Well, since I'm a really, really good friend, and also probably your only friend-" Parrot groans. "I decided to get you a silver sword just in case any fae or vampires wanna get ya next."
"Does it work on sirens, shadow men, demons, gorgons, stuck spirits, and witches?" Parrot asks.
"If you master it?" Vortex answers. "I don't know, but... here's also a book I stole from a burning village."
"Please don't tell me you burned down a village to the ground."
"I said burning, not burnt down, okay? Know the difference, human." Vortex says, handing the leather bound book to the lighthouse keeper. "Also, I did not burn the village, they did. They tried burning some women and cats and oh look, a house got caught on fire."
Parrot gives out a dry chuckle before he looks down to the book in his hand. Etched into the leather, 'Creatures'.
"Oh, neat." Parrot says.
"The waves are getting bigger, Parrot." Vortex points out, looking down at the depths. The tide becomes one of havoc, and the foam at the end of colliding waves become stronger.
"Sirens..." Parrot whispers. "I saw them sink a ship to the bottom of the ocean during a storm."
"They just do that, y'know." Vortex tells him. "Don't ever try to hear them, block them out with wax. Never go outside when you hear them swim close. They don't sing for the pleasure of humans like you, but they want flesh. Got it? Okay, good."
When Vortex leaves, Parrot is left with an iron sword and a book of information as rain begins to drizzle down in light strokes across the land. Parrot descends back inside, through the ladder into the bedroom.
A light teal paint on the walls, white borders of the window frames scarcely placed throughout. There's a bed on the side, cheap curtains draped on one side as the other gives a view to the ocean itself. It still stands there, messy and tattered. The sheets still curled with how he slept at night.
The mirror shards sit in the place they were before. They are devoid of reflection, an abyss black staring back at him.
Parrot picks up each shard with thick gloves on his hands. He puts them all into a wooden box. He doesn't clean it up, he always keeps watch of her, making sure she can't get out of the mirror.
Voices, or rather, her own voice multiplied into hundreds, come from the box as he leaves it open on his drawer next to the lamp.
"You're not being let out, Mid." Parrot says to the sorceress trapped in the mirror. "Too dangerous, too risky for me. If you were demon, I would take your deal, but... you're a sorceress trapped in the mirror realm."
Parrot places the sword down, standing next to his drawer. It shines with the last bit of sunlight, still with the blood on it.
There's chatter downstairs, along with the fumbling of stuff. Parrot sighs as he picks up the sword and descends downstairs.
"Please get out of my home." Parrot says to the two horned people in the third level, holding up the sword and ready to slash.
"You have an awfully shitty home." One of them says.
"I got into a physical fight with a vampire last night and almost died, but yeah." Parrot says. "Now please get out of my home, I will recite a prayer and only one prayer."
"Subz, I think it's time to leave-"
"I thought you were going to make a deal...?"
"What do you mean 'deal'?" Parrot exclaims, so tired of this thing going on. Then he looks down to the floor.
A summoning circle of chicken blood.
"Oh my gods." He mutters out.
The circle faintly glows of violet, the feathers scattered around from such a slaughter.
"So you didn't call us in?" Subz asks him.
"Nope, I never make deals with demons- who even broke in here!?" Parrot yells. "Please go back to hell, I'm going to- are you eating fruitcake?"
"Bake more." The other commands.
"I don't have flour-" The taller demon manifests a bag of flour into his hands. "still no." He says.
"Aw..."
"I'll call you guys if I do actually bake, now get back into the circle." Parrot says, holding up his sword to the two of them.
The two hop back into the circle, dissappearing.
He cleans yet another summoning circle in his lighthouse. And then a knock comes from the first floor. Parrot groans at an unexpected visitor before he opens the door downstairs.
"This is not a fucking hotel-" Parrot's tone changes from sheer annoyance to surprise when he sees who's on the other side. "Spoke, please tell me you did not slaughter the family that lives by the deck on main land to get here."
"Um, well you see...." Spoke tries to plead his case but Parrot just shuts the door on him. "Parrot, can I pretty please come in? My cathedral was ransacked by vampire hunters."
"Wait, what." Parrot says before opening the door. "So you're homeless?"
"No, not homeless.... but, like.... possessionless, I guess?" Spoke answers. "Also, uh, company." He adds on, walking to the side.
Behind Spoke are two people. A taller guy with white hair and a shorter one with all different types of dye in his hair.
"Can we have the box containing the sorceress back?" One of them asks nervously.
"What're you gonna do with it?" Parrot asks him. "She got trapped in there for a reason, fellow."
"Yeah, well, it's my birthday and we're a coven that promised not to skip any important days...."
"Look, Mr. Lighthouse, we need her, okay? She's our friend and we know she's evil but she's our crystal and tarot girl."
"Uh.... no."
"Please?"
"Still no."
"A potion of luck," They offer, pulling one out from their coat.
"What the hell am I gonna use-"
"A dragon's scale for strength."
"That kinda looks like my friend's...."
"Money. Gold, silver, anything else?" The taller asks, clearly getting frustrated.
"A chicken. Alive, by the way." Parrot tells them.
The two witches look at eachother before scurrying away to grab a chicken.
"You can come in for a moment, Spoke. Just don't drink my blood, I had garlic bread for breakfast." Parrot says before climbing back to the top as Spoke just sits down on the first floor.
The tide is high, the waves colliding against the rocks of the island where Parrot lives on. He sees sirens. No, just one.
He flicks open the book in a haste, flipping through the pages until he gets to the siren. 'A monster from water, hear not their alluring song and avert your eyes from the wicked water. The pure heart remains untouched by the ocean's danger'.
And just like that, he hears the breathy, yet ethereal singing of the siren as a storm draws near.
"Come down, oh purest mortal. Let your soul sink into the depths of the ocean. Beneath the waves will be your final resting place, oh purest mortal..." Much to the siren's dismay, Parrot doesn't fall for the song and he scratches the back of his neck, inhaling through clenched teeth.
"Yeah.... I don"t think that's gonna happen any time, Clown."
"Not even a nibble?" Clown asks him. "Like come on! I've cannibalized my own siblings, I'm that hungry!"
"Look man," Parrot groans. "I- I'll ask Vortex or Spoke or even the witches do drop someone off."
"Well, I don't want leftovers." Clown crosses his arms.
"It's either hunt, starve, or that." Parrot replies with. "Here's some shark meat I bought for you." He says, taking a big piece of raw, stiff meat from a chest filled with ice and salt.
The lighthouse keeper tosses the shark meat into the ocean which the siren immediately gets to devouring before then leaving. Guess that saved his ass again.
The storm turns into a light shower of rain and Parrot smiles softly.
"Hey! We have the chicken!"