Chapter 5

The registration office was indeed only a few blocks away from the city's gate. Once Fenrick was free to move at a comfortable pace, they made it there rather quickly. Elara was struck by how slow this trek must have felt for Fenrick, and yet he only carried her a few blocks, instead of the hour or so they could have shaved off if he hadn't forced her to follow him on foot. The fucking nerve!, she thought. Closing her eyes as they burned with anger. If he had carried her since the beginning, perhaps she could still feel her left pinky toe, instead of only knowing of its existence because of the giant blister matching the height of her toe, which was uncomfortable enough when she wasn't touching the ground, let alone walking. A thought punctuated as Fenrick abruptly set her on the ground in front of the building. 

Fenrick dusted himself off, throwing off his hood and raking his fingers through his hair. Elara took a moment to look up at him for the first time. She had noted before that he was more handsome than her previous captor, but in the glow of a distant street light, he looked remarkably dashing. He had a slight beard, with a hint of gray on his chin. Too, his hair seemed to have some gray thrown in. There was also intelligence in his eyes. Probably something most mages had in common, Elara considered. Fenrick made a show of catching her looking at him, tilting his head towards her with a charming grin before taking hold of the doorknob and stepping inside. 

Walking in behind him, Elara continued to glare. Did he do that on purpose? She wondered. Was he toying with her? It was something she had to consider. He had been much kinder to her than that psychopath who kidnapped her. What were his motives? Elara's thoughts quieted as her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room. The whole of it was dim, but Elara managed to make out most of the surroundings; she might have been better at it if she were familiar with the type of building she was in. What she doubted she could grow accustomed to was the grinding, mechanical sounds that were assaulting her ears. Initially, she covered her ears with her hands, only for Fenrick to bat her hand away from the closest ear to him. She stood behind him, willing herself to withstand the headache-inducing noise that seemed to surround her, but was the loudest in front of her.

In front of them, the room opened into a small reception area with a few worn chairs facing a high counter, much like an old bank teller's station. A thick panel of glass—or some similar transparent material—rose from the counter's surface, separating the lobby from the workspace behind and clearly designed to keep the clerk protected, or perhaps contained. Visible behind this barrier sat the clerk: a mechanical doll, engrossed in paperwork spread across its desk. A narrow slot cut into the base of the barrier presumably served for transactions. The doll had a wooden appearance but was shaped much like Fenrick and her previous captor, only more Elara's size, if not a little bigger. Gears spun around its joints, giving it an almost steampunk appearance, and a soft glow emanated from within its torso. The lobby was empty, so Fenrick walked directly up to the counter, stopping before the transaction slot.

"Excuse me, I would like to register a sparrow," Fenrick said, placing a hand within his robe and pulling out a piece of paper. 

"Manifest and paperwork - " the doll replied, not even looking up from the desk. 

Fenrick placed the paper on the table. He dug again in his coat and pulled out a coin, putting it on top of the paper. "Manifest and paperwork." 

The doll's face tilted upward. Or, that was what Elara imagined was happening. Truthfully, there was no face on the doll to mark where it was or wasn't looking. The doll pulled the paper closer to it and set the coin aside. "This sparrow will be required to attend training. Only once they have completed training will they be allowed outside of the training facility. You are to report them by the end of the morning. If you fail to do so, a warrant will be issued for your sparrow and you will be subject to lose custody of your sparrow. Do you understand?"

"Yes, thank you." Fenrick nodded, taking a step back. 

After a few moments, the doll pressed a stamp to the paper, signing it. A weird cooling sensation, like a soft breeze, drifted across the mark behind her ear. It felt ... good. Elara let out a sigh, noting afterward that this did not incite the wrath of the mark either, and she was thankful. If only the rest of her body could be cooled by that sensation, but she would probably pass out if something like that were to happen. So it was for the best that the feeling remained where it was, a gentle tickle was all that was left, and then it faded to nothing. Immediately, Elara missed the sense of something good happening to her. She held back tears as she followed Fenrick outside. 

Fenrick smiled, clapping his hands. "Now, here's for the good part. How would you like something to eat?" 

Her stomach growled, answering for her. She had wondered how long she had been awake now. 2 days? It seemed like more, but she couldn't know for sure when she arrived. A full stomach would surely cause her to sleep deeply if given the opportunity. An opportunity she wasn't sure that Fenrick wouldn't take advantage of as well. She nodded her head slowly, a yawn escaping her lips for daring to think about sleep in that moment. The three sensations of hunger, pain, and tiredness felt like it was pulling at her sanity, and all she wanted to do was curl up in bed with a cheeseburger and go to sleep. 

Fenrick chuckled. "Ah, how about I get us a room and order some food up, eh? You're going to need your rest for tomorrow." He took off, again forcing Elara to follow him. She wasn't sure how far 10,000 feet was, but she wasn't in a curious mood to find out, either.