CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 59: WHY AM I SO HUNGRY

Aiden, Ashton, and Julian continued talking for a while longer, their voices gradually softening as the evening wore on. Aiden rubbed his eyes, a wide yawn escaping his mouth, betraying just how exhausted he felt after the long day. His body felt heavy, as if he had been running all afternoon, and his eyelids kept threatening to close on him.

Ashton immediately noticed and frowned. "Do you want to sleep now?" he asked, raising a brow. "But you haven’t had dinner yet. You even told Julian during lunch that you didn’t feel like eating. It’s not good to sleep on an empty stomach."

Aiden stifled another yawn, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "I really can’t help it," he said with a sleepy tone. "I feel like I can’t keep my eyes open anymore." He turned toward Julian, who was sitting comfortably on the couch. "Even though I feel sleepy, I am also a little hungry. If you could be so kind, could you bring me some dinner from the dining hall and leave it on the table? I might wake up later in the middle of the night, and if I do, I’ll eat then."

Julian rolled his eyes, though there was no real annoyance in his expression. "Fine, little baby," he said with a sigh. "I’ll get you dinner."

Aiden chuckled, his lips curving into a tired but grateful smile. "Thank you so much."

Julian waved him off. "Stop thanking me. I’m willing to do it, so just go to bed before you collapse right here on the couch."

Aiden nodded in relief and stood up. He was halfway to his room when Ashton called out to him. "Hey, do you want us to follow you to the disciplinary hall tomorrow?"

Aiden paused by the door to his bedroom and shook his head. "No, don’t worry about it. You both have class tomorrow, and I’m sure I’ll be fine on my own. Besides, you wouldn’t be allowed to follow me inside even if you came, so there’s no point."

Ashton nodded reluctantly, though he still looked worried. "Alright. Just don’t stress yourself too much about it, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Aiden said, waving lazily as he finally stepped into his bedroom.

Inside, the room was dimly lit, and the familiar sight of his spirit companion immediately drew his attention. Rainbow, the vibrant little bird that had somehow become such a constant presence in Aiden’s life, was curled up and sleeping peacefully on one of Aiden’s pillows. The bird looked so comfortable that Aiden hesitated for a moment, almost not wanting to disturb it.

He shook off the thought and kicked off his shoes. "I don’t even know why I’m this sleepy," he muttered to himself, climbing onto the bed. He flopped down beside Rainbow, who barely stirred, and the moment Aiden’s head touched the pillow, sleep claimed him.

When he woke up again, it was deep into the night. The room was completely quiet, and at first, Aiden didn’t know what had woken him—until his stomach growled so loudly that it almost startled him. The hunger that gripped him was intense, almost unbearable, and he felt like he could devour an entire feast by himself.

"Good thing I asked Julian to bring food," Aiden muttered under his breath as he sat up. "Otherwise, I’d probably be the first supernatural creature in history to die of hunger."

He swung his legs off the bed, still groggy, only to freeze when he came face to face with a pair of glowing, rainbow-colored eyes staring at him from the pillow beside him. His heart jumped in his chest, and he almost leapt back in fright before his mind caught up with him.

"Rainbow," he breathed out, placing a hand over his chest. "Are you trying to scare me to death?"

The bird tilted its head at him, and then a familiar voice echoed in Aiden’s mind. "I wasn’t trying to scare you. I woke up because I was hungry. You woke up three seconds after me."

Aiden blinked in surprise. "You... get hungry too?"

Rainbow narrowed his tiny avian eyes at him, and the disdain in his voice was clear as he spoke directly into Aiden’s mind. "Of course I do. Every living thing needs food to survive. Aren’t you supposed to be intelligent? Why do you keep asking such ridiculous questions?"

Aiden’s lips parted in offense. "Excuse me? I don’t know what to think, okay? You’re the supposedly immortal bird who can sleep for two centuries straight without food or water and still be fine when you wake up. How am I supposed to know that you need to eat?"

Rainbow flapped his wings irritably, then sounded even more disdainful—but this time with a hint of pride. "My former master was so powerful that the spark of her power she left inside me was enough to sustain me through my hibernation. The only reason I woke up seventeen years ago was because that power finally ran out and I was forced awake by hunger."

Aiden rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, it’s a pity that your great and powerful former master isn’t here anymore. You’re stuck with me now—your new, not-so-great master who apparently doesn’t know anything."

The bird went silent for a moment, and Aiden could feel a faint ripple of guilt through their bond. Rainbow finally said, with a softer tone, "I’m sorry."

Aiden sighed, the anger already fading. "It’s fine. Just... tell me next time when I ask about something. Everything in this world is still new to me. I won’t know anything unless you explain it."

Rainbow gave a tiny nod with his small bird head, and Aiden almost laughed at the sight. Seeing a bird nod was such a strange image, but he bit back the laugh, knowing Rainbow would be embarrassed.

Just then, Aiden’s stomach growled again, louder this time, as if to remind him why he was awake in the first place. He quickly got out of bed and left the room, Rainbow flying behind him, perching lightly on his shoulder as they made their way to the shared sitting room.

Sure enough, Julian had kept his promise. There was a cloth covering something on the center table, and Aiden’s heart leapt in relief. He walked quickly over and sat down, pulling the cloth away to reveal two full portions of food.

Aiden’s brows rose in surprise. "Two portions?" he muttered. "Julian must have thought I’d be extra hungry."

He took one of the portions and divided it into two, placing one half in front of Rainbow. "Here, you can have this."

Rainbow didn’t argue, hopping onto the table and immediately digging into the food with surprising eagerness.

Aiden focused on his own portion, deciding to tackle one full serving first. Normally, he could never finish a whole portion from the dining hall—the meals were always too large for him—but tonight, he devoured every bite in record time. His stomach still felt empty afterward, so he reached for the half portion he had set aside and finished that as well.

When he finally leaned back with a sigh, he realized that he was just barely satisfied. He glanced at Rainbow to see if the bird had managed to finish his own share, only to blink in surprise. The plate in front of Rainbow was completely empty.

Aiden stared at the tiny bird, then at the plate again. "Are you some kind of bottomless pit? How did you finish that much food?"

Rainbow gave him an indignant look, the voice in Aiden’s head sounding almost offended. "You’re the bottomless pit. You and your entire family are bottomless pits."

Aiden blinked, caught off guard. "Excuse me?" He looked down at his own empty plate and realized that he had indeed eaten far more than he usually did.

Rainbow’s voice came again, smug this time. "Look at you, calling me a bottomless pit when you finished everything too. Pot calling the kettle black."

Aiden scoffed, but there was no real heat in his voice. "Yeah, but at least I’m human. You’re just a bird. You’re barely bigger than two of my palms put together, and somehow you managed to finish a whole portion of food. How does that even make sense?"

Rainbow fluffed his feathers proudly. "You’re forgetting that I can transform into a much larger version of myself—one that’s even bigger than you. If anything, I should have eaten twice this much."

Aiden opened his mouth to reply but suddenly felt a heavy wave of drowsiness wash over him. "What the..." he muttered to himself. "Why am I feeling sleepy right after stuffing myself full?"

He yawned widely, unable to fight the sudden lethargy, and got to his feet. "I can’t be bothered to argue with you right now," he said, giving Rainbow a tired look.

Rainbow didn’t reply, assuming that his explanation had been enough to end the conversation. He simply followed Aiden as he walked back to the bedroom, flapping his wings once before landing back on his usual pillow.

Aiden climbed into bed again, barely taking the time to adjust the blanket before he flopped down. Sleep pulled him under almost immediately.

Rainbow tilted his head, staring at Aiden’s sleeping face for a few seconds. Something about the speed with which Aiden had fallen asleep seemed odd, but the little bird eventually shrugged it off. With a small flutter, Rainbow curled back up on his pillow, closed his eyes, and willed himself back to sleep.