Olivott

Olivott crouched near the ledge of his lookout, one hand braced against the cool stone beneath him, his wings draped like a cloak around his shoulders, tail twitching with residual tension. It was nearing dawn. The bush still held the hush of night, but the sky was beginning to pale at the edges. Mack sat nearby on a higher rock, legs swinging over the edge as he talked—loudly, animatedly, about something involving a cryptid dating app and a bad date with a selkie. Olivott wasn't really listening. He rarely did when Mack got like this. He let the words wash over him as he swept his eyes across the bushland one last time.

He was just about to nudge Mack and signal it was time to head back when movement caught his eye. Below the ridge. Too far off for detail, but close enough to know it wasn't animal movement. Too upright. Too deliberate. Not a kangaroo. Not Kuparr.

He narrowed his eyes, body shifting slightly forward on the rock. It could be a lost hiker. Or it could be something worse. Someone who'd gotten too close to the house by accident—or on purpose. He sighed through his nose. Of course, it would be now. So close to sunrise.

Olivott swore under his breath before standing, wings stretching once in preparation.

"What's up?" Mack called, noticing the shift.

Oli kept his eyes on the bush. "Thought I saw someone."

"You gonna check it out?"

Oli hesitated. Then gave a single nod. "Aye."

"You'll cut it close."

"I know."

"Well, don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Olivott scoffed as he leapt, wings spreading with a heavy thrum.

"That's why ye're no’ comin'," he muttered to the wind.

Mack's version of damage control usually involved a grin and an invitation home. He'd done it once. Athan hadn't said what he'd threatened him with, but Mack hadn't tried it again.

Olivott angled toward the spot he'd marked—mid-slope, thick with eucalyptus and tangled scrub. Somewhere between Kuparr's outer markers and the old drainage gully no one used. He reached the area quickly, landing with the grace of someone built to drop from high places, his feet hitting the earth with a dull thud. He scanned the area. Nothing. Bush, trees, rock. But he had seen something.

He should leave now. Turn back. The sky behind him was already shifting—navy to deep grey, the stars fading fast. He had minutes, maybe less. But then he saw CraveU user, too far to make out clearly, gone again in an instant. Olivott exhaled sharply through his nose.

"Fuck," he muttered.

The light shifted again. It was too late. He could feel it. Skin tightening. Limbs starting to resist. No time. He looked around, weighing cover against reach. A hollow log? Too narrow. Tree base? Too exposed. His gaze settled on a rocky alcove near the creek's bend. Not ideal—but enough.

He moved quickly, silently. Stone settling into stillness. He'd taken the risk. Now he'd spend the day alone, exposed, and half-watching the place where someone wasn't supposed to be.