Daniel loosened his tie with a sigh as he opened the cardboard door leading to his apartment. He looked around his empty abode, searching for the creature. While it had been down in the dumps just after the battle, after a day it’d perked up like it had grown wings. Because it had. But therein lay the problem – while he had been worried about it being in his house initially, he was more worried when it went somewhere he couldn’t see. He had no way of knowing what it did out there, who it would meet, and what it would bring back.

  Case in point, he heard something falling onto the concrete floor behind him, and he turned to spot the creature. It stood there, staring at him as its mandibles moved in the air. Underneath it was a saliva covered pigeon, twitching slightly as it lay on the floor, paralyzed. Daniel sighed softly. Recently, the creature had taken to offering him tributes like a cat would. It was more than a little troubling, as it didn't seem to understand what a human wanted. It had brought him a variety of things over the past few days - a broken watch, a half-eaten burger, and a few other odds and ends. This was the first time it was bringing him a living thing, and he didn't really want to imagine how it caught it.

  Daniel retrieved a tea towel from his drawer and began wiping the pigeon down. It was still alive, just paralyzed by the creature’s stinger. When the creature used it against Petra the other day, he’d assumed that it had been born with a hidden stinger he couldn't see. Given how it had grown new wings, however, he figured that the creature must’ve eaten a bee or a hornet to grow that stinger. And perhaps it’d taken the venom from a spider. It was downright intriguing, and he would love to know how it did it. It was likely some quirk of its alien genetics.

  At any rate, He knew that the pigeon would be fine in a little while, so he left it swaddled by the door and went back inside to clean his hands. As he washed the excess spittle from his fingers in the kitchen sink, Daniel wondered what he would do about the creature’s gallivanting. It didn’t go out very often, and it (probably) hadn’t done anything bad to anyone’s pets. But in his mind, it would only be a matter of time before it did something Daniel would regret. He mulled it over as he turned the tap off and washed his hands. After a while, Daniel decided to look it up on his phone.

  And that was how, after dinner, Daniel found himself standing next to the creature at the base of the apartment, dressed in a tracksuit. He looked around the area, scanning the darkened streets. There was nothing but the bright flare of streetlights populating the sidewalk, and if it weren’t for the distant sounds of cars passing, it would be like no one lived here at all. But that suited him just fine.

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  “Let’s go.” Daniel said to the creature.

  He began walking towards the local park, and the creature followed. He’d read online that the best way to release a pet’s excess energy was to take it on a walk. It was a well-established routine for dog owners, but it was slowly coming into style for cat owners as well. The creature was no dog or cat, but it’s not like he had any better ideas.

  After walking for a few minutes and crossing several streets, they arrived. The cool night wind rustled through the dark treetops as they walked the concrete path towards the greenery. The sound of night insects and frogs filled the background ambiance. The creature walked along the path with him, compound eyes glancing all over the place.

  After a few minutes of walking the creature disappeared into a bush, causing Daniel to freeze. He tried to listen for signs of the creature, but couldn’t hear anything over the wind. He waited there for a few anxious minutes, wondering what he would do if it didn’t come back. He started imagining news headlines about an alien insect running amok. Fortunately, it came back soon after that, none the worse for the experience. Daniel let out a quiet sigh of relief and continued on. From there, he decided to let it go off on its escapades, trusting in its faithfulness to always come back. He didn’t have a leash to stop it, in any case.

  As they walked along, Daniel basked in this rare feeling of relaxation. It was strangely liberating to come to a place which was usually well populated at night, when no one was around. It was quiet, calm and peaceful, and the creature was obediently following him. For the first time at a while, he felt at peace. No work, and no distractions... Besides the sound of metal clashing with metal.

  As the insect-human pair walked deeper into the park, where people rarely went, the sound of conflict grew louder. Daniel and the creature soon stopped, watching as 2 humanoid figures clashed, their weapons making sparks against each other. One was a black-cloaked figure holding a long dagger. The other wore armor, and held a shield and sword. As Daniel watched, the cloaked figure showed almost inhuman flexibility by flipping backwards to dodge a sword swing.

  “What’s the matter, Lexie?” The dagger wielding figure taunted. “Can’t the top student of Orion Academy catch little old me?”

  The armor-clad figure spat blood onto the ground.

  “That’s Princess Alexia to you,” she said, whirling her sword around. “And we’re only just getting started!”

  With a roar her sword began glowing, and their conflict began anew. The clash lit up the night sky with brief flashes of light and sparks. Daniel observed them for a few more minutes before turning around.

  “Let’s go home.” He said quietly to the creature, as they began walking back the way they came.

  As they say, out of sight and out of mind. But just in case, he made a mental note to never visit this park again.