The hawk was still bound by his spell; he would have liked to release it, but the notification he received made him wary.
He wasnât bonded enough to use the hawk skills, but that wasnât the problem, since they werenât bonded, if he freed it and let it outside, it would probably fly away once its wings were healed a little.
âThis is a closed space so it wouldnât be able to leave even though it wants to, Iâll release the spell and seeâ
Roman stood up and backed some distance away from the hawk, then stretched his hands forward, and the hardened blood around the hawk broke apart, freeing the wings.
The hawk immediately stood up and flapped its wings, but it had a hard time moving one of them, the injured one, then it turned towards Roman and let out a screech.
Roman was focused, with his Mana extremely low, he couldnât cast any spells as that would render him unconscious, but the hawk couldnât fly, so it wouldnât be able to hit and run like it did earlier.
Both of them were now staring at themselves, and since the hawk showed no sign of attacking, Roman began to close the distance between them, till he was just one step away, and it still hadnât moved.
âHas it surrendered because Iâm stronger or what, Since Iâve tamed it, it shouldnât be aggressive towards me, but I still havenât gained its trustâ
Roman bent down, his hand hovering for a second before he touched the hawkâs body. Its feathers felt softer than he thought, warm under his palm.
The hawk didnât move. It just stood there, breathing fast, its sharp eyes locked on him.
Romanâs heart was still pounding, but slowly, he moved his hand along its back, almost like petting a dog.
Its feathers ruffled a bit under his touch, but it didnât hiss or snap.
Roman swallowed, lifting his hand to gently touch the top of its head. The hawk blinked, tilting its head slightly into his fingers.
Roman let out a small, shaky smile.
âItâs letting me touch it... Maybe itâs starting to accept me.â
His fingers were still trembling from exhaustion, and his arms still hurt from the scratches, but he kept petting slowly. The hawk stayed still, its head low now, breathing calmer.
âIt doesnât trust me yet... but it isnât fighting me anymore.â
Roman pulled his hand back a little, watching the hawk closely.
âTo bond properly... I need to do more than pet it.â
A thought came to him.
âSince I injured the hawk, I should heal it, and itâs probably hungry... feeding it might help.â
Roman wiped sweat off his face, feeling how empty his Mana was. His body ached all over, but the idea felt right, he didnât know how else to bond except that.
âIf I feed it, itâll know Iâm not an enemy... just like how animals trust the person who feeds them.â
Roman stood up slowly, legs heavy, and looked around the empty arena.
âProblem is... I donât have food here so Iâll have to get something from the dining hall, I hope they have meat, Maybe I can ask for some raw meat, Iâm sure the chefs would spare a little, but how do I heal its wingsâ
âI have no idea how much damage I did but at least it wasnât a fireball spell or it would have burnt the wings offâ
He looked down at the hawk again. Its wing still hung lower, injured, and its eyes followed him carefully.
Roman let out a small breath.
âIâll figure it out... feeding it might be my best shot to earn trust, this building is closed so it canât escapeâ
He crouched back down, scratching lightly under its beak. The hawkâs eyes closed for a brief moment, just a second, then opened again.
Roman smiled weakly.
"Guess weâre stuck with each other for now, I wonder which skills the hawk has," he muttered.
Roman remembers back at the village when Diana turned beast-like and grew claws, she was a summoner, so it must have been a skill of one of her summons.
Roman didnât know what to expect since the hawk wasnât like a wolf, but he knew he couldnât gain wings, so that was out of the question.
Roman sat beside the hawk, his next plan was to go to the dining hall, but he was also thinking of a way to heal it.
âI donât have a healing spell but I can learn one since I can learn all spells possible, but Iâm pretty sure I canât learn it today or even tomorrow, I should focus on something I can doâ
Roman finally stood up and began walking away. At first, the hawk was just watching him go, but then it began walking towards him. Roman arrived at the door and quickly opened it and closed it again.
He couldnât let the hawk free, even though it couldnât fly, it might try to run or someone might see it.
Romanâs bleeding had stopped, but it was obvious he was injured. With nothing to cover his hands, he went to the dining hall like that, with his hands close to his body so others wouldnât notice.
The dining hall was almost empty, just how he wanted, and he walked towards the counter. He didnât pick up a plate and just stood in front of the older chef.
"I have a favor to ask," Roman said, and the chef moved forward a bit.
"What is it?" She replied.
"Can I get a bit of raw meat? Just a bit...I have something important to use it for" Roman spoke.
"Just a piece of raw meat, thatâs all?" She asked and Roman nodded.
She left the counter and went back where the younger chef was. Roman could hear mumbling, and after some time, both of the chefs came out. The younger one stood close to the door, while the older one had meat wrapped in a tiny piece of cloth.
She handed it to Roman with a smile on her face, and he accepted, but he knew the smile on her face wasnât just normal. She looked like she wanted something in return, but she didnât say anything as she handed it to him.
"Thank you, if you have something I can help you with, donât hesitate to ask me, thanks," Roman spoke as he walked out of the dining hall. Then he met Ava at the door.
âAh shitâ
"Roman, where have you been? Iâve been looking for you. Donât you want to train anymore?" Ava asked.
"Oh, Iâve been busy, we can still train at night, weâre roommates after all," Roman said, and Ava immediately looked away as her cheeks turned red.
"Itâs fine then, bye," Ava said as she walked into the dining hall with a smile on her face. The only thing on her mind was the training at night; she was sure Roman wanted to have sex with her again.
âI knew he wouldnât be able to resist me, I was already planning on how to bring it up, guess I wasnât the only one thinking about itâ Ava thought as she walked towards the counter.
Roman did that to avoid any questions, his clothes were dirty, he was sweaty and holding raw meat in his hands, he was also injured, she just didnât see, he had no answer to any of these questions if she asked, so he did that.
He couldnât have sex with Ava till he slept with someone else, and that someone was going to be Reina, he would invite her to his room since Ava was already his.
Roman walked away and turned around to make sure she wasnât following him before walking away.
Roman pushed the door open, and the hawk paused with its wings outstretched. It was trying to fly, but couldnât, and stopped as it saw Roman.
The hawk froze the moment it saw Roman, its wings half-open as if it had been trying to lift itself. It dropped them back to its sides, tilting its head.
"Ohh, already trying to escape"
Roman stepped forward slowly, raising the wrapped cloth so the hawk could see.
He crouched down, unwrapping the cloth. The fresh smell of raw meat filled the air. The hawkâs sharp eyes locked onto it immediately, and it took a step forward.
Roman placed the cloth on the sand with the meat on top and backed away a little.
âLetâs see if this works...â
The hawk hesitated only a moment before hopping closer. It lowered its head, grabbed the meat in its beak, and started tearing small chunks off, eating quickly.
He stayed crouched, letting the hawk eat in peace.
"How hungry is this thing" Roman muttered.
The hawk paused, lifting its head to glance at him, then went back to eating.
Roman smiled faintly, âIt couldnât possibly have understood what I said.