Shop’s wing instinctively swung out in front of Terri, as if to defend her. “I wa-was just telling her about it!! I, I mean, we, don’t even know if it was a one time thing or if it could happen again!”

Needless to say, both girls were very much flustered as they sat in awkward silence.

“Sorry I’m not the most cohesive storyteller!!”

“No no, goodness!” Terri exclaimed. “It all sounds so intense, I can’t blame you for not being able to recall it all!”

“You sure you don’t wanna talk about it? I’ve been the one talking this whole time!” Shop offered, finally starting to relax in Terri’s presence.

“No no, I’m sure. It’s been fairly boring anyway, managering and whatnot, nothing exciting like what you’ve been getting into, please do go on!!”

“Shop is a dear friend of mine, wouldn’t you want to help make YOUR friends happy, and tease them a bit at the same time?”

He chuckles to himself, leaning against the wall. “Besides, Terri will be the one most capable of sympathizing with her, it only makes sense that she be here for her as she finishes recovering.”

“ABSOLUTELY!!” Shop cried out, feathers puffed up in defense and embarrassment.

“Sorry ‘bout yelling, but it’s for sure changed since the beginning, and definitely for the better I’d say, right bud?”

Dark looked up from his phone, “Hm- Oh, yes yes, of course, you’ve since gotten much more bearable~”

“Or maybe you just got a soft spot for me~” she teased, stepping towards the ego. “I saw that smirk though, what’s going on?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary, I was getting in contact with someone to help around here while I step out for a moment...”

“Oh! Well, ok? Will they be here in time for lunch? We could say hi together before you have to go!”

“Hmmm, I suppose I can stick around to do that, especially since they might need some help navigating around for a bit-”

“Oh!!! I could help them!! I’d love to if i can!”

Dark chuckled as he started making his way down the hall to the main doorway. “I’m sure they would appreciate the tour~”

“And with minimal damages it would seem! Doc did some scans and seems everything’s back in place, minus a teeny fracture, but we wrapped it up and I’m ok to go chill out! Just, can’t itch around it or flex the wing too much, not like I’m gonna be able to do much of anything anyway...”

Shop took a seat as Dark entered the room, tucking a phone away in his pocket. Shop perked up, determined not to let her sadness show, she was gonna do her best to be patient and get back to practicing her flying.

“Hey bud! just got done with another phone meeting or something?”

“Of sorts.” Dark answered bluntly. “How do you feel?”

“Eh, as good as I can, all things considered...”

“Well, that’s good, why don’t we get some food yes? I’m sure you’d like something in your system after such a long visit with Dr. Iplier..~”

“Dunno how they’d feel about me in all honesty, but hey, a girl can dream...” Shop gets lost in her thoughts for the duration of the her check up with the Doc, who gave the nearby Dark a curious glance, in which he returned with a knowing shrug; his lips were sealed, knowing Shop would never live it down if he said anything prematurely, but thankfully so far this little bird seemed to have recovered ok, all that was left was her X-rays-

They’ve come a long way since then- 

But yes, he was very spooked bc she had decided to keep it secret for a while before she got fed up with getting pushed around so much, suddenly being shorter than someone who just outgrew you will usually make someone rethink their choices a little-

“I’ll have a good day after I get out of Doc’s office and into a cozy bed!! But to answer your question, I’m normal human size, and Dark’s a big ol boy~”

“Or conversely, I am the one who is average size, and you happen to be smaller~”

((Shop is 5′3′’ and Dark is roughly 22 feet tall, just saying XD))

“I’d say it’s going per the norm...”

“Dark pllleeeeaasssseee, I’m fine, I don’t want them inspecting my wings like crazy, I barely got flight time in on them!!”

“And if you want to up your times, we have to double check that you healed correctly, none of us exactly know how this works you know.”

((I can't remember if I've ever posted this scribble but he's back to his very grateful height of about 22'!!))

Dark scoffed, “You assume I don’t try to understand her already?” He whispers, trying to make sure he let Shop sleep a bit. “But, you ARE right anon, this has been quite the learning experience...” 

The next morning, Shop wakes up to the smell of a home cooked breakfast, Dark waiting for her so they can talk over food, the events that had transpired.

After which, the two set off back home, Shop, for once, not looking back. She knew it would still be there when she needed, and she had a hunch that lead her to believe that Dark, and by extension, she, needed to go back to the manor to get back to their normal, not so normal life.

And sure enough, Marvin and Henrik were waiting for the two to come back to the cabin, despite Dark’s reservations about walking there while so much smaller than normal.