Private Finished New Roost

"Very well, I will be very grateful for your assistance."

She bowed her head. She didn't exactly sound grateful, but with the way she's been speaking the whole time, that's not surprising. She said it because she believed that she should be thankful.

"If that is the case, please, feel free to let me know if you require any assistance. I am not certain if I will be able to provide much to you, but I will do whatever I can."

While she wasn't offended at all, she still couldn't help but notice how he'd compared her to a bird. She was used to being referred to as a tool, or a weapon, or other things to that effect. It was demeaning, even though she herself had never thought of it as anything other than true. She wasn't sure whether Finch was going for something similar or not.

"In the meantime, is there anything else you would like me to do? Any rules that I should remember to follow?"

Her head snapped towards the sound of the tapping as soon as she heard it, body tensed as if about to spring into action. She blinked, however, when she saw it was just a bird, relaxing again almost immediately. Curious, she walked over to the window, slowly pushing it open.

"Mr Finch, by any chance, is this one of the birds you were referring to?"

She leaned closer, slowly, careful not to disturb it, and tried to see if there was anything unusual about it.

She tilted her head to the side, her confusion obvious on her face. No one else had said anything to her at all regarding the birds on the island. But since she was to listen to her dorm parent, she decided to take this supposed importance at face value.

"Very well, I shall remember to do so."

She walked away from the window, and without missing a beat, addressed the bird sitting on Finch's head.

"Good afternoon to you, I am Euphemia. Should you require anything of me, I will endeavour to accommodate you to the best of my abilities."

She bowed her head, speaking the same way she would to any other person, as if talking to birds was an entirely normal thing to do.

Kibble and meat, no bread. Euphemia nodded, expression serious as she committed this information to memory. This was very important for her to know after all.

"Very well, I will make sure to keep some on hand." She then addressed the bird again. "I apologise, I do not have any food for you. However, I will be sure to keep some on hand, should you visit again."

She remained quiet for a moment, one of the things Finch had said giving her pause. She thought about it for a moment, before speaking.

"Mr Finch, you say I am to treat the birds as friends, but I am afraid I have never had a friend before."

Euphemia had spent her whole life being made very aware of her status as a tool, a weapon of the order. A weapon did not need to have friends, so she had never had any.

"As such, I am unsure of the correct behaviour. If I am to be a friend, how should I act?"

"There are several others in the dorms with me, yes." She replied with a nod. "However, I have had relatively little contact with them all."

She noted the change in speech, frowning to herself, interpreting his lack of experience as him simply not wanting to help. She was accustomed to authority figures in her life not wanting to deal with her, she didn't want to irritate them.

"I apologise," She said, as deferential as ever. "There is no need to answer my questions if you would rather not. I would not wish to trouble you."