'I don't have much to offer,' a drop of sweat rolled down his face.

  'I don't desire much,' the magpie answered, approaching Astel's bleeding leg.

  'Your blood is delicious; I only wish to drink some.'

  Somehow, the fact that it said this like it was a normal thing made it that much scarier.

  Astel stared at the creature, unsure how to answer. The wound on his leg hadn't properly closed yet, and blood was starting to leak out again.

  Knowing he couldn't be picky, he hesitatingly answered, 'Alright. But only a little bit. I don't need you drinking it all.'

  The bird seemed ecstatic. It immediately jumped toward the wound.

  Pushing its oddly long tongue deep inside the wound, Astel could once again feel the bleeding stop.

  'You're a magpie, aren't you?' Astel asked as the wound on his other leg was closed by the little helper.

  'I indeed am what you humans would call a Magpie.'

  The creature stared at the bone still sticking out of his leg.

  'What do you wish to do about this?'

  Astel shook his head.

  'I'll snap it back into place, tie it up, and hope it heals.'

  His voice was shaky.

  'I wonder why you humans inflict such pain upon yourselves.'

  Astel scoffed.

  'Do I have any other choice?'

  After a pause, he added, 'I don't suppose that tongue of yours could put it into place, right?'

  The magpie shook its head, hopping toward his bleeding arm.

  'I can help you close the wounds, but I can't repair that which is broken.'

  Astel sighed, staying silent for a while, occasionally grunting from the pain.

  'Magpies are usually seen as bad omens in my culture.'

  The bird nodded, jumping onto his chest after healing his arm.

  'In other cultures, my kind would be seen as bringers of fortune instead. Perhaps that is why we met. I have been feeling hungry for some time.'

  It said this while licking its bloody beak.

  'Right,' Astel thought. The whole thing seemed odd.

  He tried pushing himself off the ground but was stopped by the bird.

  'You shouldn't move yet.'

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Astel frowned.

  'We don't know when that winged creature will be back. I have to get going.'

  The bird shook its head.

  'You can't.'

  It sighed.

  'That winged creature is what some of you called the nesting basilisk. I can assure you it won't be coming back for a while.'

  Astel stared at the bird with suspicion. Was it trying to trick him? Was this all some twisted game?

  Could he trust it?

  He tried to stay awake for as long as possible, but as night arrived his body started giving up.

  Famished and battered, he slowly fell into a deep sleep.

  In the morning, he woke up to the smell of berries.

  Opening his eyes, he saw the magpie eating a handful of yellow and red berries on top of his chest.

  Without hesitation, he reached for the colorful fruit and ate it.

  Only after swallowing did he think, 'Wait… were these even edible?'

  The magpie laughed.

  'Not to worry. The fruit is safe to consume even for your kind.'

  Astel sighed in relief.

  Just in case, he guided his energy toward his stomach to reinforce his digestive system even a little.

  Finally having the energy to look around, he turned his head to inspect the nest.

  Surrounding him were bodies of dead animals. Some were already decomposing, others were just piles of bones.

  He jumped in fright, almost opening his wounds again.

  The entire nest was built using bones of deceased creatures, woven together with dried grass and vines.

  Astel stared at the nest, frozen, until the voice of the little bird brought him back.

  'The basilisk is a passive predator. It only eats creatures that were already dead.'

  Astel stared at the bird in horror.

  'You're saying that it was only planning to eat me after I died?'

  The bird nodded.

  'Indeed. But thanks to me, you'll live.'

  It paused.

  'That is what you wanted, isn't it?'

  Astel nodded slowly.

  'Good. I am sometimes unsure of your intentions. Often times you humans scream for something to kill them only to have a burning desire to live within them.'

  'You seem to know a lot about humans…'

  The magpie nodded, flying onto a branch above Astel.

  'Sometimes I get to meet some who, like you, fall from the sky.'

  'The sky?' Astel thought to himself.

  He looked up at the pristine white sky above his head.

  'How is it that I fell from the sky? Where am I?'

  The magpie tilted its head.

  'I don't understand your question.'

  Annoyed, Astel repeated, 'How did I fall from the sky if there's a sky above my head? That doesn't make sense.'

  The bird turned its head toward the sky.

  'I'm unsure.'

  'Unsure? About what? Don't you live here?'

  'Precisely. I only know of this place.'

  Astel frowned.

  'Great… How am I supposed to get out of here then?'

  The bird stayed silent.

  Astel thought about using the shadow notion to appear above the snow trap.

  The bird leaned slightly toward him, as if listening intently.

  However, memories of his last few attempts swayed him away from using it.

  'You can fly, can't you?' Astel asked the bird.

  'Is there a way out of here? A way to go above the sky?'

  The bird shook its head.

  'I've seen many try to find their way out.'

  Astel leaned in.

  'And? Did they succeed?'

  The bird shook its head, flying down and landing on his head.

  'They all died.'

  A cold shiver ran down Astel's spine.

  'I see.'

  The day slowly passed with nothing happening.

  Sometimes the bird would bring Astel more berries.

  As night approached, Astel fell asleep once more, hoping to wake up the next day.

  Above him, the magpie watched him sleep.

  Light peeking from between the leaves shone down on Astel's eyes, waking him up.

  Looking down at his body, he saw the little bird pecking at his broken leg.

  With a swipe of his hand, he chased it away.

  'Hey! What do you think you're doing?'

  The bird landed on the bone sticking out of his leg.

  It watched him in silence, its dark red eyes reflecting nothing.

  'Humans are fascinating,' it said slowly.

  'You are the only creatures who would kill their own fortune out of suspicion.'

  'Fortune?' Astel asked, confused.

  He looked down at his broken leg.

  The bone was roughly shaped to fit back together. The small bone chunks in his flesh were removed, and the exposed parts looked healthier, less rotten.

  'Did you do that?'

  The bird nodded.

  'It might take me a few days, but I think I can fix your leg.'

  It tilted its head.

  'You are fine with that, are you not?'

  'I… am,' he answered with uncertainty.

  The bird kept helping him, yet Astel still felt that something was wrong about it.

  That he was making a huge mistake.