CHAPTER 3: A NEW HOME

The inside of Mason's house was far bigger than it appeared on the outside. It also appeared to be extremely well organized and clean. However, one major thing managed to stick out more than everything else: The ceilings. every single room in the house had raised ceilings, all usually having a large metal rod that would go from one end of the room to the other resting near the top of the ceiling. I knew that this must have had something to do with the other Non-human that lived here, but I was still confused on exactly what kind of Non-human lived here. I turned to face Mason.

"Hey, umm, Mason." I asked.

"What's up Ares?" He responded.

"Well... exactly what kind of Non-human lives here? I was told that there was another." I said.

"Ah, yes! Can't believe that I forgot about her." He chuckled as he smacked his forehead.

"Her?" I quickly questioned, seemingly cutting off Mason.

"Yep. Her name is Phantasma Polaris." He said. "She's a bat."

My mind instantly jumped to a sense of confusion. I've never even heard of a Non-human of the bat species. What did they look like? Was she friendly?

"You look confused." Mason said, obviously catching that my lack of response was off.

"Umm... I've just never even heard of a bat Non-human species before. I'm not exactly sure what to expect." I explained, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well, you're not the only one to say that. Her species is pretty rare, almost like your own in a way. The only way I can really explain her is that she has about the same build as a Harpy, except her wings are like that of... well... a bat!" Mason explained. "I honestly really can't give that good of a description of her." He continued.

"Why isn't she down here?" I asked.

"Well, she's nocturnal. So, she's probably asleep right now." He responded. "Either that or she's being extremely anti-social right now. It's honestly pretty fifty-fifty." He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"That makes sense." I mumbled. "I guess I'll probably see her later tonight then?"

"More than likely. I'm sure that you two will get along just fine though, so no worries there." He explained. "Anyway, I'm assuming that you'll want to see the rest of the house?" He asked.

"Yes, that would be nice!" I excitedly bounced. I truly was excited to see the house, and I could tell that this excitement wasn't going to go to waste.

Mason led me through his massive house, starting with the first floor. He started with the living room, which he explained to me was basically a place where anyone could go to relax and watch something called television... another thing that apparently most humans had that amazed me. He then went on to the Kitchen and Dining Room, two rooms that I was actually familiar with. This being said, they were still far more complex and fancy compared to any other kitchen or dining room I have ever set foot in. He then led me to the backyard that was connected to the kitchen with a backdoor. The backyard was a massive fenced off area that had two very large trees resting in the middle, something that made me feel more at home. He then began to lead me upstairs, which was apparently where all of the bedrooms were. However, Mason was distracted by a ringing noise coming from his pocket. I watched as he pulled out a bright blue cell phone, to which he reacted to with a surprised looking face.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, stopping behind him on the stairs.

"Umm... I actually need to take this." He said, his voice going from a happy and cheery tone to a more serious one. "Tell you what though, your rooms the door on the right. Go ahead and make yourself feel at home!" And with that he began walking back down the stairs, passing me and disappearing into the kitchen without giving me the time to respond.

This would usually make me feel odd, but I was too excited to see my room to even care. So naturally, I continued up the stairs until I reached the top. I was greeted by a hallway that had three doors in it. However, there was two on the right, so I was not sure which one to enter. I knew that Phantasma was currently sleeping, and I really didn't want my first impression on her being me barging into her room while she was sleeping. I slowly walked over to the two doors, debating which one I should choose to open. My heart began to nervously pound as I gazed at the doors. Left, or right?

My hand kept jumping back and forth between the two doorknobs. I wanted to yell for Mason, but not only was he talking about something important, but I also didn't want to risk waking up Phantasma by yelling either. I guess I had to make a decision.
I slowly began to reach for the door on the right, grasping the door knob as I began to slowly open it. I must have had the right door though, as the lights were on in a dimmed state, something that I imagined that a non-human of bat origins wouldn't be too fond of. My heart and nerves calmed themselves as I quickly opened the door the rest of the way. I then began to look around the room with pride, noticing one major thing that only brought one thought to mind.
Wrong room.

Standing at the end of the dimly lit room was a small female that perfectly matched the description that Mason gave to me. However, I was seeing far more than I wanted to. Apparently, Phantasma had just recently woken up... and was currently in the middle of getting dressed, leaving herself nothing short of indecent.
She quickly turned to face me, a look of horror and embarrassment instantly appearing on both of our faces. We both began to blush, neither one of us able to look away from each other either from shock or the sheer element of surprise that was currently overflowing our brains. I truly wanted to look away, however my brain wasn't able to process what was going on. Luckily, she managed to make the move that caused my brain to make a decision.
Phantasma instantly dropped everything she was holding, swiftly covering herself up with the large wings attached to her arms. She then let out an ear-piercing feminine scream that basically forced me to swiftly back out of the room.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" I yelled as I slammed the door behind me, hearing Phantasma mumble some rather obscure obscenities as she backed away from the other side of the door.

"Damn it." I sighed to myself as I slid to the ground with my back up against the wall.
I took a deep breath and then looked up, only to be greeted by a surprised looking Mason who was just at the top of the stairs.

"Oh no." He said, giving away the fact that he knew what just happened.

"I think you gave me the wrong door!" I yelled, jumping back up to my feet.

"I know!" He yelled in response. "That's why I was coming back upstairs! I was going to tell you that I meant to say the door on the left!" He explained.
My mind then went blank; however, I did realize that this was technically Mason's fault.

"So... can you tell her that it was your fault then?" I asked, looking Mason in the eyes.

"If you think it will help, I will whenever she decides to come out." He responded.

I then let out a small sigh of relief. "Thanks." I said. "I'm... I'm just going to go organize my room."

"Understandable. I'll come talk to you in a bit. I'm going to go get dinner ready." He said, leaving me to myself as he walked back down the stairs.
I then turned to face the door on the left, opening it to reveal a room that seemed to be completely different from the one I just witnessed. The room was much larger and more open. I single large window rested on the back wall, a vivid picture of the backyard peering through from the other side. I also noticed that there was a small television in my room, something that slightly excited me. However, there was one major thing that caught my eye: The bed.
The bed that was in my room was a type of bed that I have always wanted; A hammock! It was connected by the two far corners in the right side of the room, each corner seeming to have a sort of decorative yet sturdy false tree that went through the floor and ceiling to hold the hammock's ropes. Hammocks were something that were always very common in Griffon culture, however they all usually had to be custom made. This one seemed to be very well made though, and was easily big enough for me. Mason must have ordered this when he decided to let me stay here. I guess I had yet another thing to thank him for.
I sat all of my things down next to the dresser that the television was sitting on, then walked over to the hammock. I cautiously sat down on the large mass of hung netting, slowly falling back onto it until I was eventually completely sprawled out within the netting. It was extremely comfortable, and far better than the bed at my old home. In fact, I found myself slowly closing my eyes. It was long until I eventually fell asleep.

2 Hours Later

It wasn't long until I heard a knock at my door, causing my eyes to shoot open. I slowly sat back up in the hammock. I was unsure about how much time had passed, but I assumed that it was just Mason at the door telling me that dinner was ready.

"Come in!" I yelled, sitting up in the hammock.

I then watched as the door open, but was surprised when it was instead Phantasma who walked in... Her face looking embarrassed and shy.
I could finally see what she actually looked like. She was literally built like a harpy, all the way down to her size. However, her wings and feet were that of a bat, and were a very dark gray color. She was wearing a pair of ripped up jeans and a dark grey hoodie. Her hair was also very dark, and appeared to be very messy. Upon seeing her hair, I noticed that she didn't have normal ears, but instead bat ears that were fairly comparable to that of a centaur when it came to their positioning. I also noticed that she had blood red eyes.

"Umm... Hello... sorry." I said, this being the only thing my brain could currently get out. I then prepared for something along the lines of a scolding from the bat. However, her response was almost the opposite.

"It's fine." She begrudgingly sighed, her voice appearing very timid, shy, and quiet. "Mason told me what happened. I understand."

I could only say one thing. "Thank you, but I'm still sorry."

"Well... I'm glad that you're at least kind." She said. "I'm Phantasma Polaris, nice to meet you."

I felt my heart warm up out of relief. "I'm Ares. Ares Argestes. Nice to meet you too."

"Well." She awkwardly paused. "Now that that is out of the way. Dinner is ready, come down whenever." She said.

And just like that, she left. I took a bit to process everything, sitting silently in my hammock. At least everything was off to a good start.