28 Chapter 27 - Glimmering Raven

Entering the store and looking around, she was met with what one would expect from an Animal Shop, from the scent to the sounds, even the cramped walkways.

And crammed in this situation was very cramped. In her attempts to walk down the hallway, she found herself struggling not to damage something or bump into something because of how packed it was in cages.

Every inch of the place was covered by a cage of some sort, with creatures inside that took all sorts of forms— either hissing, barking, squeaking, or jabbering as they moved around.

She was so worried about hitting something over she moved especially slowly as she walked around— because if she had accidentally knocked something over— the anxiety of hitting one thing over and causing an avalanche of cages was not fun.

But aside from that, she was actually enjoying herself a lot, especially seeing all the different creatures the place had to offer.

From just a glance inside she could see a ton of creatures she had only read about in books, from normal owls to Nifflers, Horned Toads, Emeraldback turtles, serpents of all varieties, ravens, and much more.

As she was walking down the hallway, she heard something that caught her attention, a voice that spoke with a hiss.

"She'ssss weird~"

What caused her to turn and look was the raspiness it carried, with the tone of the voice echoing in her mind rather than in her ear.

She turned her head in the direction it came from— assuming it was someone speaking in a hushed voice— she saw a caged serpent with three small horns on its head.

A species of magical creatures called Trihorned Serpents— she remembered reading about them in books.

"Something about her feels different."

The second voice was slurred, speaking in a slowed motion as if they were struggling to speak, yet she heard them clearly.

This time the voice came from a turtle that had an emerald-covered back, speaking in response to the serpent as it was near the cage.

'Is this reptile's tongue? Interesting, so I can understand them as if we have telepathy between us.'

She found the way it worked fascinating, and she wanted to see if she could speak back to them, but she couldn't risk it with Albus being around.

Giving away the fact that she could speak to reptiles, or even just snakes would be a bad sign for someone like Albus.

But she did want to show signs that she was interested in reptiles, and all creatures really, so that when she inevitably starts keeping some with her, it wouldn't seem out of place.

So, with a mixture of acting and reality, she moved toward some of the caged creatures— looking at them with interest in her eyes— and spoke with an excited tone.

"They are so cool."

The creature she was currently looking at seemed to be some sort of raven with glowing markings on its body, something she hadn't seen before in books, so it was attractive to her.

It seemed Albus took the bait and decided to play along with her, moving closer to observe the creature he spoke.

"Ah, it's a Glimmer Raven; they are quite rare and exceptionally smart."

A Glimmer Raven, that was the first she had heard of it, so she was curious to know more. Plus, she felt a weird connection to the Raven.

Not just the Raven, but quite a few other creatures here had this weird connection to her.

It wasn't physically there; she couldn't see any, but when she tried to sense what that connection was, she was able to feel a dark thread connected to each of them and herself.

Maybe it was the controlling of dark creatures the ability spoke of— no, she was certain it was. However, she still needed to learn more about it.

"Oh? What are they like? I've never seen any in the books I've read."

She replied as she looked between the old man and the bird.

"Well, that is because they aren't very well documented and are quite difficult to come across here because they are native to Greece. Even I don't know much of them."

A bird that was native to Greece and was so rare that not even Albus knew much of it— that made her even more curious about it.

Honestly, she wanted it.

But the issue was how could she convince Albus to get it for her, and even more so, how could she get it to listen to her?

Pondering this question, she looked at it further, only for it to look back at her, with them now starting at each other.

The Raven moved closer, shifting to the edge of the cage where she stood, and moved its head down for her to touch.

It wanted her to pet it. How smart— and spoiled— she thought.

But she played along and extended her finger into the cage, using it to pet the raven's head softly, feeling the softness of the black feathers that decorated it.

"It's so docile and cute."

She said to Albus as she played with it, Albus, on the other hand, was surprised by how friendly the Raven was with her upon their first meeting.

"That is surprising. From what is known, they are quite reclusive and don't like being around people. It must really like you."

'Maybe, or it's my darkness abilities playing a part; either way, this is useful.'

She thought to herself as she smiled internally. She could use this as a chance to keep it. Maybe its closeness will get Albus curious to observe it further and he would let her keep it.

"Really? Can I keep it then? It's so friendly and fun."

She ask with eyes that were basically sparkling at Albus, pleading with his soul to let her keep the creature.

She could see the look of contemplation in his eyes when she asked, unsure if it would be wise to allow her to keep a relatively unknown creature in the house.

Given who she was, that is.