Stephen sighed and walked over to one of my couches before he sat down with a groan. "So are we going to be waiting for her to heal herself?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and I nodded in confirmation while I stayed put in front of the fireplace, not wanting to back up in case she needed me. "Well, I guess we are going to be getting paid to do nothing then." He yawned and stretched, getting himself comfortable on my couch.

"Well, I will be paid for doing nothing while I wait for her to heal herself," I said and folded my arms across my chest. "I don't know why you are still here, Stephen." I scowled and narrowed my eyes playfully at him, and he rolled his eyes and scowled, even though a small smile appeared underneath the scowl.

"Because your father wants me to stay here with you," he said. He shrugged and grimaced, pressing his lips into a thin line. "I don't think he trusts the bird."

I bit back a tired sigh and shook my head, moving a hand through my hair and across my face before I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "No, that isn't it," I said and leaned back on the ground. "He wants you to let him know what was going on with the bird after she is healed because he knows that I will "forget" to do it."

"Forget my ass," Stephen said and scoffed a laugh while he rolled his eyes, biting back a small snort. "You aren't going to forget. You are just not going to do it, especially if you find something interesting about the animal that you want to dive deeper into before you give anyone else information on the animal. That is going to happen with the bird that so happens to need fire to heal itself." He gave me a pointed look and raised both eyebrows in unison. "Isn't that right?"

I didn't say a word and pressed my lips into a thin line. My cheeks turned red, and I couldn't help but look away from him because Stephen was right, for that was exactly what was going to happen, especially since I had done it multiple times before in the past.

"Well?" Stephen asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he looked at me. A satisfied smirk appeared on his face, and I could tell that he was pleased with himself, especially since he had gotten me quiet, which was something that was hard to do, especially when it came to animals. "Am I right, or am I right?"

"I plead the fifth," I said and shook my head, not answering his question if that was the truth or not, even though we both knew that it was. "I do not know what you are talking about, and I will pretend not to know what you are talking about until the day that I die."

"Which will be a very long time," Stephen said and folded his arms across his chest while he scowled and narrowed his eyes playfully at me. "So go ahead and admit that you are going to wait until you get what you need before you tell others some of what you have found out about the animal."

"What do you mean by some?" I asked, getting offended at the accusation, even though the accusation was the truth when it came to the animals that we cared for.

I did tell people what they needed to hear and nothing more than that for the privacy and safety of the animal...

"I do tell you all what I have found out about the animal after talking with them."

"Do you tell us everything that you have found out, or do you hide it because you don't want us to know what the animal has to say?" Stephen asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he studied me.

I didn't respond and shrugged, looking anywhere but at him because what he said and asked was the truth when it came to my abilities of talking to animals, and Stephen smirked, deciding that it would be for the best to stay silent when he got the truth out of my silence.

"Mmmhmm," he said and gave me a pointed look. He leaned back in his seat and cleared his throat. "Do you think that there is something strange about her?" he asked, changing the subject, and I raised an eyebrow in question without saying a word, giving him a pointed look.

Stephen bit back a small chuckle while he shook his head. "Don't give me that look," he said. "You know exactly what I mean by that question. I know that you think there is something strange about her because you "claim" that she is a phoenix."

I held back an eye roll and set my jaw, pressing my lips into a thin line. "I mean, I am pretty sure that she is a phoenix, especially since she is in some fire right now to heal herself from all of the injuries she has received." I gestured toward the fire that held the "sleeping" bird, and I couldn't help but become a little worried about her because she had been here for a while.

Stephen looked toward the fire before he looked at me, and a look of worry flashed through his eyes. "Do you think that she is going to be ok?" he asked, changing the subject, and I couldn't help but shrug and grimace.

"I don't know," I said, biting back a tired sigh before I moved a hand through my hair and across my face before I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I'm not sure if she is going to be ok or not. However, I do think that she will let us know if she is ok when she is done with whatever it is that she needs to do."

He hummed and slowly nodded. "Do you think that there are different dimensions?" he asked randomly, and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in question while I looked at him, mildly shocked and surprised that he would ask such a thing.

"What?" I asked, shocked and surprised he would ask such a question, and I cocked my head to the side while I studied him. "What do you mean by that?"

Stephen sighed and rolled his eyes, pressing his lips into a thin line. He folded his arms across his chest and scowled, and a look of annoyance filled his eyes while he stared at me. "Do. You. Think. That. There. Are. Other. Dimensions. Besides. This. One?" he asked slowly as if he were talking to a child, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

I scowled and narrowed my eyes, growing annoyed with him because I had no idea why he wanted to talk to me as if I were a child, even though there was no reason for it. "Seraiously?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I studied him, and he nodded in confirmation.

"Yes," he said and nodded, giving me a cheeky grin that I so badly wanted to smack off of his face, but I didn't because I didn't want to move from my spot near the fireplace. "I. Want. To. Make. Sure. That. You. Know. What. I. Am. Asking. Of. You. If. It. Means. Talking. Like. This. Then. I. Will. Do. It. And. Piss. You. Off."

I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips into a thin line, growing annoyed with him. "Very funny, Stephen," I said and folded my arms across my chest before I turned away from him and looked at the fire, waiting for some sign that she was going to be fine and it being time for her to exit, hopefully on her own.

"I'll stop if you answer my question," Stephen said with a small chuckle in his voice. He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest, and a small smile appeared on his face while he looked at me.

"You just stopped, though," I said with a shake of my head, and Stephen shrugged and grimaced, pressing his lips into a thin line. I bit back a tired sigh and moved a hand through my hair and across my face before I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Yes," I said and nodded, folding my arms across my chest and tapping my arm with a finger. "I think that there are different dimensions. I have thought about that for a while, even before all of this." I gestured toward the fireplace where Rias, who was still in the fire, was still healing.

Stephen looked around before he looked at me with a small frown on his face. "Then why haven't you told me that you have?" he asked, trying but failing to keep the hurt out of his voice. "Why have you not told me that you thought there were different dimensions?" he asked.

I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thin line, growing annoyed with him. "Because it was a topic that was never brought up between the two of us," I said and shrugged, biting back a small grimace. "I don't know why you are making such a big deal about this, Stephen."

"Because I am annoyed that you never told me this," Stephen said and leaned back in his seat before he shook his head. He bit back a small yawn and rubbed his eyes, and he moved a hand through his hair and across his face. "I mean, I told you that I believed in unicorns and stuff like that. That should have told you that I believed in different dimensions and all of that stuff that came with it."

I rolled my eyes and pressed my lips into a thin line, biting back an annoyed sigh. "No, it doesn't," I said and looked toward the fire, making sure that Rias didn't need anything, and I could tell that nothing had changed with the fire or her being in it. "It doesn't tell me that you believe in different dimensions. It only tells me that you believe in animals that we didn't know existed."

"Like Rias," Stephen said and nodded. He groaned and stood, and I looked at him and raised an eyebrow in question because I had no idea why he decided to stand when we were not done. He stretched and yawned before he smacked his lips and looked at me, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and scowl, growing annoyed with him, even though I was a little curious as to what he was wanting to do. "Do you want some coffee?" he asked and started to walk to my kitchen without my permission or me telling him that he could make some for us.

I bit back a tired sigh and rubbed the bridge of my nose before I slowly nodded, and my whole body started to sink a little because I was growing tired of him. "Please," I said and leaned back with a small yawn in my voice. "I would appreciate it. Thank you, Stephen."

Stephen smiled and nodded, bowing his head. "Then I am going to make some coffee for both of us," he said and flashed me a small smirk and wink before he continued to walk away from me, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and scowl, growing annoyed with him. "Let me know when she is out of the fireplace and is healed," he called over his shoulder, and I couldn't help but bite back an annoyed sigh.

"I will," I said and turned to look at the fire to see that it was still going, and I couldn't help but press my lips into a thin line when I saw that nothing had changed. "I don't know when something is going to change, but I will let you know if something changes."

You have my word...