The apprehensive bird had been reading poems since the early morning and also had been nagging Zhang Zian for a while. It was thirsty and hungry, so it flapped its wings and landed next to Fina, wanting to drink from Fina's water bowl. Fina glanced at it coldly and reached out its sharp nails. Looking at those nails, Richard decided to turn to Old Time Tea.
"Hey, old guy. Let me drink some water," it said to Old Time Tea.
Old Time Tea waved its paw calmly and said, "Help yourself to some tea. I don't like sharing my teacup with others though."
The teapot was sitting right there. Richard knew that there was no way it could lift that teapot even though it was an Elfin. It was better at talking than doing.
Looking around the store, it noticed Galaxy was playing hide and seek with a few kittens. Immediately, it flew towards Galaxy.
"Meow?" Galaxy looked at it questioningly.
"Water, are you going to drink your water?" Richard asked. It already started planning on fighting Galaxy over for water. It felt that Galaxy was the easiest opponent if it had to fight someone.
"Nope. I don't drink water!" Galaxy replied.
"Squawk, who doesn't drink water? Water is the source of life, you know? What an idiot!" Richard opened up its small round eyes, "Water, wody, agua, wasser, δωρ, understand?"
"I don't drink water!" Galaxy said again and wanted to continue its game with the kittens.
Flapping its wings, Richard stopped Galaxy, "You don't want water but I do. Go get water from that guy! If you don't listen, I am going to beat you up! I am so powerful. You won't be able to escape if I am mad at you… I can …"
Without finishing its words, Richard found that Galaxy disappeared suddenly.
"Squawk!" Richard kept looking around, "Where did it go?"
A voice came up from behind.
"Don't run! Galaxy is coming!"
Richard turned around and saw that Galaxy was behind it, having continued its game with the kittens.
"What the f*ck?" Richard was amazed, "When did you slip off? Are you a ghost?"
As Richard turned around, it was frightened once again.
Fina was standing right behind it. Its green eyes were shining.
"My… My Majesty, What… What's up?" Richard was too scared to look at Fina's cold face. What if this cat eats birds?
"My Majesty, I am… not tasty. You know, I am skinny… bony…" Richard kept begging.
Staring at it, Fina said after a few moments of silence, "Let me ask you. What was the last word you said?"
"My last word?" Richard relaxed after hearing that Fina wasn't going to eat it. It thought for a second. "Ghost?"
"Nope, earlier."
"δωρ?"
Looking at Fina's facial expression, Richard knew it had hit a home run. Fina's face turned from arrogant to sad. Richard didn't know what happened. "δωρ" was the ancient Egyptian word for "water." This place was confusing. Richard didn't understand why Galaxy moved so fast. It didn't understand what the relations were between this golden cat and ancient Egypt. Richard dared not to ask at this time.
Water. That was right. This store was very weird. The young black cat was elusive. The golden cat was moody. The old brown cat attacked a bird's butt without notice… Richard knew it couldn't afford to offend anyone there, with exception of the guy working the store.
Zhang Zian was cleaning up the shop as usual. He knew the apprehensive bird was jumping around to tease the cats. He pretended to not know because he seriously didn't think that bird could hurt anyone. People had never heard of the apprehensive bird because they didn't understand it. Richard might not simply repeat what it heard, but it should be able to understand the deep meaning of people's words.
Squawk! Squawk!
Richard flew back to Zhang Zian, "Hey, Jeff. I think we will be great friends."
Zhang Zian said, "Who wants to be friends with you? Also, I just mopped. Watch your falling feathers!"
"Come on! You can't get a girlfriend if you are so mean. I meant a real girlfriend."
"Really?" Zhang Zian stopped, still holding his mop, and stared at Richard.
"Of course! Come on, trust me. I will get you one," Richard said confidently. "Tell me. What is on your wish list for a girlfriend?"
Zhang Zian started counting off on his fingers. "First, a pretty face. Second, a hot body. You know, nice and curvy. Third, a sweet voice. Fourth, a good cook. Fifth, gentle and obeying. Sixth, wealthy and willing to spend money on me…"
"Wait!" Richard raised one wing to stop him. "Let's get you a boyfriend…"
Zhang Zian was speechless.
Richard calmed itself down by flapping its wings. It said with with care, "I know why you don't have a girlfriend now. If you are looking for someone like that, you will never get one. Well, you are lucky to have met me. If you serve me well, I will help you find a girlfriend in three days… nope, three months."
"I heard you said three days," Zhang Zian said.
Richard kept shaking its head, "For a normal person, yes, three days are plenty. However, you are almost helpless. To get you a girlfriend in three months will take me some serious hard work."
"Never mind. I have been single for so long that three days and three months don't really make a difference anymore." Zhang Zian didn't believe Richard. He continued cleaning.
"Hey… My dear Jeff," Richard landed on Zhang Zian's shoulder, "Look, we are best buddies now. How about you get me some food and water?"
Staring at Richard, Zhang Zian said, "I am warning you. Don't poop on my shoulder, otherwise I will feed you your own poop."
"I won't! I am a civilized bird!" Richard swore.
Zhang Zian wasn't going to starve Richard, so he picked up a plate and put some water in it. "There you go."
Richard was so thirsty. It jumped down from his shoulder and started drinking immediately.
Looking at it closely, Zian realized that Richard was really a huge parrot. It was almost 16 inches long and its chest hair was a bit messy. Zhang Zian just saw that there were some red feathers in its tail underneath the silver-gray feathers.
Richard finished the water quickly. Shaking off the water on its mouth, it turned around to look at Zhang Zian and found that he was staring at its tail. It immediately said, "Creep!"
What the heck?! What do you think I am watching?! Why would I be creepy to a male parrot!?
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