“What was that?” Abia called out, unable to hear him over the noise of the tavern, the silence fading away into the raucous banter. She found herself further away from where Victor stood, her hand to her ear, squinting in hopes of catching a word. “Don’t let what?!” She yelled out again, but this time her own voice was drowned out as well.<br/><br/>The visual of the bar began to brighten, and darken, and brighten again, blurring with each shift of light. The images of the patrons, the tables they sat at, the candles atop them, began wavering as they fizzled out completely from sight, leaving only the sounds as they became even louder. It no longer sounded like men and women chatting merrily, but rather it became a deafening buzz, a droning tone of static, until...<br/>....nothing.<br/><br/>——————————————————-<br/><br/>Soaring through the air and sweeping down to a window, a happy little bluebird found itself a perch atop a simple windowsill. It chirped a small tune as it hopped back and forth between the green shutters, as if deciding on whether or not to pass completely through to the other side. Only once did it notice movement in the bed nearby did it panic and fly off.<br/><br/>Abia blinked her eyes a few times, the sun shining through and rousing her from her sleep. The chirping before was a welcomed sound. It was a pleasant change from a terrible noise she had heard earlier...but for some reason she couldn’t quite place what noise that was, or when, or where. Nevertheless, she shrugged it off as she sat up in her bed, stretching the sleep away from her body. “That was much needed.” She mumbled to herself with a smile. She got up and dressed herself, and then headed down to the tavern kitchen and began making breakfast for all of the tenants.