Chapter 4 - Feathered Conundrum

Majsan's response carries a hint of annoyance. "More like, why are you here?" she retorts before sighing. "I guess you won’t leave until I tell you something. Gunnar is my uncle, and this is his house. I come here to visit sometimes when I need to. He must be away on some work trip, and I've never met Lena. She's just some lady that he works with. I imagine that she's the one in the pictures."

Tanya, Robbie, and Emilia quickly realize that Majsan doesn't seem the least bit surprised by the presence of talking pigeons, displaying an unusual level of nonchalance.

"I don't know where he is. I thought maybe... he might be by the nest. I haven't seen or heard from him. He's typically always home," she responds to Robbie's query about Gunnar's whereabouts. When addressing Robbie's question about running away, she says, "I didn't know... don't know if you are involved with these birds in some way," with a nod towards Freddie.

She then adds "Listen, if you're truly interested in learning more about birds, you should meet that guy from that show 'Squawk and Awe,' Mats Tingblad. He lives around here." The group gets the impression that Majsan is trying to nudge them out of the house. She seems nervous.

Majsan knows more, and It's clear that she's withholding information because she doesn't entirely trust the group. They know that she doesn't view the pigeons as a threat, judging by her casual attitude towards Freddie and his feathery friend. Additionally, Majsan appears to have suspicions that her uncle is involved with the birds.

Both CHARM and EMPATHIZE could be used to gain Majsan's trust. Failure in either will result in her trusting the group less and asking them to leave. Alternatively, someone could try to search around for clues with SNEAK, though you're limited in where you can look while Majsan is watching you. These are just suggestions, and I'm always open to other ideas. If you dream something up that's reasonable, I'm game for it to happen.

Majsan visibly relaxes and sets down the tennis racket after hearing Robbie's explanation. She sighs, her shoulders dropping in relief. "I'm sorry for being so defensive. I've been on edge lately, and you did sneak into this house. You see, a couple of days ago, I was attacked by some larger birds, and they hurt Bullen." She points to her dog, who's been watching the scene with curiosity. "He's been limping ever since. It makes me so angry, and I'm trying to do something about it."

She continues, "I know the pigeons aren't dangerous, they're just stupid, but these larger birds aren't." She gestures for the group to follow her to the garage.

Inside the garage, there is a workbench, and on it is a large bird she killed and examined with a knife, a pair of pliers, and some scissors. Next to the dead bird and dried blood is a microchip and some papers containing drawings of birds and microchips. She starts to explain, "I found this device in a bird, and my uncle's papers..." But her words are cut off abruptly as Freddie and his friend react to the sight of the dead bird. Freddie lets out a mechanical scream and panics, fluttering wildly throughout the garage. His feathered friend faints in response to the gruesome scene.

Robbie's voice, filled with concern, seems to have the opposite effect on Freddie, further agitating him.

Majsan, responding to Emilia's comment, adopts an unamused and unconvincing tone as she replies, "Sure, it was already dead when I found it." However, her words eventually help calm Freddie, and he regains his composure, deciding to follow Emilia.

Shifting her focus to Tanya, Majsan begins to explain, "I saw him last Christmas briefly and haven't heard from him since. We don't talk a whole lot, just when I come during the summers sometimes. I was surprised to find the house like this." Addressing Tanya's questions about the bird and the chips, she continues, "I don't know if he's the one inserting these things. I know he researches animals, but I don't talk to him about his work. I think he might be involved, or maybe he got caught up in something." She then expresses her own concern, saying, "Yeah, thanks. I hope he's doing okay too."

Tanya carefully examines the papers, discovering that they contain designs for some sort of machine. However, the details of its intended function or operation remain elusive. Notably, she spots a serial number, "IEX-4Z32," in a couple of places on the documents, though its significance remains uncertain.

The bird in Emilia's hands abruptly stirs, its beady eyes locking onto Emilia. It chirps with a sense of awe and wonder, "You saved me! You must be the greatest person in the entire world!"

The bird is now overly attached to Emilia.

The pigeon appears perplexed by Emilia's question. It becomes clear to Emilia that the pigeon doesn't have a name, as the concept of names is likely foreign to these birds. As she observes the pigeon more closely, she notices that it is smaller than Freddie, with a slightly more rounded head. Emilia deduces that this pigeon is a female.