Germany x Reader ~The Weight of Porcelain~ 7

-Part 7-

It wasn't long after you got settled in the cabin that you noticed something different about the way Gilbird was acting. Instead of sitting still on your head, he would stay tucked away in his cage and peck sparingly at a few seeds. When you had told Ludwig about it, he had said that Gilbird was probably just tired from all the travelling he had to go through.

"Gilbird, how am I going to show how responsible I am to Gilbert if you're like this?" you asked stroking his head.

Instead of grunting, Gilbird merely blinked and began to preen his feathers. You sighed. Since he hadn't been willing to spend so much time with you, there wasn't much else to do expect admire the dolls that were in your room to kill the time.

One by one, you picked up each doll and gave them all names in your head. You didn't even know where the names came from. Some of them were familiar, some that sounded like they had once been named after someone you once knew. Each one, however, was different. Finally, you came to the last doll hidden away in the dark corner of the highest shelf. It was smaller than the rest, lighter. It's face wasn't as intricately painted as the rest, and it's porcelain finish was beginning to crack. Even its silken dress wasn't enough to hide the wear and tear that this doll had experienced. It must have been old.

"Gilbird, look at this one," you said holding up the doll for your pet to see. Gilbird obediently looked up in response.

You smiled. "Isn't this one funny?" you asked. "Gilbert always gave me new dolls, and the others in this room look new, but this one…" You turned it around so it faced you. "This one is old. Do you want to see?"

Since you knew Gilbird probably wasn't going to say anything, you brought the doll up to his head for him to see. Even thought it was smaller than the rest of the dolls, it was still bigger than him.

Then, out of nowhere, you felt a sharp jab on the tip of your finger. Startled, you dropped your doll after pulling your hands back. There was a loud crack! when the doll hit the heated hard-wood flooring, and Gilbird had on an inscrutable expression. He had pecked you.

"Bad Gilbird!" you scolded your pet and examined your finger to make sure nothing was damaged. Nope. Then, you looked down at your doll that had cracked right open in between its head. It looked like a terrible sight. It was like the doll had died.

"Look what you made me do…" you groaned disheartened at having the only interesting doll be broken. With nothing else left to say to Gilbird to make the situation any better, you bent down and began to pick up the broken pieces.

"I have to be careful," you said aloud. "Once, I dropped a glass cup, and Ludwig cut himself when he picked up the pieces for me. I felt really bad. It was like I was hurting, too."

Once you picked up the last broken piece, you gathered together the rest of the doll and placed it back on the shelf. You would have to tell Ludwig that you had broken your doll.

When you were about to set off, you noticed something shiny on the ground where the doll had fallen. It was made of a material you hadn't seen before. It was shiny and small, but the round and hollow shape drew your attention over to it. When you examined it, it looked like nothing more than a very tiny golden wheel like the ones you had seen when Ludwig was driving you to the cabin.

"Isn't this pretty?" you asked Gilbird holding the object just far enough so he couldn't peck you again. "It's so shiny…"

This time, Gilbird grunted and cocked his now alert head at the object you were holding. You wondered what it was.

"Do you think I should ask Ludwig?" you wondered aloud.

Gilbird didn't say anything. Something told you to forget about mentioning the broken doll and the shiny object.

"If I tell him the doll is broken, he'll have to fix it," you said. "He said he was busy so I don't want to trouble him." You looked back down at the round object in your hand. It didn't look like anything you had seen in the past, but something in the back of your head told you it symbolized something very special.

"Maybe if I see Gilbert again, I'll ask him," you told your pet and slipped the object into your pocket. Then, you walked out to the living room to grab some more birdseed with Gilbird flying attentively after you.

While walking along the bars, you began to notice how heavy your steps began to feel. Each time you lifted your foot, it felt like a heavy sandbag was weighing down on your ankle slowly bringing your stride to a standstill.

What's going on? you wondered. Your breath was beginning to grow weak again.

It can't be… you thought feeling a cold sweat break out on your forehead as you dropped to the floor. By now, Gilbird had made it to shoulder and perched on your clothes.

"Gilbird…" you managed to say despite your labored breathing. "Gilbird, I don't feel so good…"

Ludwig. You needed Ludwig's help. Without him, you wouldn't be able to gain access to your medication. If what he had said was true, your episodes would only get worse if they weren't attended to.

"Gilbird, get Ludwig," you pleaded to your bird. "Please…" Suddenly, you doubled up like you had just been punched in the gut. Your stomach began to hurt like someone had taken a red-hot knife and ran it through your flesh causing your entrails to spill out. It was unbearable.

"Ludwig!" you screamed. You tried to do it again, but out of nowhere, you coughed up something warm and wet. It tasted metallic in your mouth. There temperature around you was growing colder and colder like when Ludwig had first brought you inside the cabin. When you managed to open your eyes, you noticed the floor was stained with splattered of red droplets, your blood.

Oh no…

Though he was a bird, Gilbird sensed the urgency of your situation, without a moment to lose, he began to fly towards the direction of Ludwig's office. At this point, the pain had grown to a degree that you couldn't stand without shutting your eyes. The last thing you heard was a rush of footsteps getting louder and louder and the sound of Ludwig calling out your name.

"…"

"…I told you about this."

"I know, but…"

"West, her body's starting to go into rejection. I've done everything I could."

"What about Gilbird? He's been doing just fine."

"That's not the point. That's never been the point—and even if he's a perfect replication, he's not the real thing. ___________ is different."

"You should have let him stay dead."

Gilbird's dead?

You opened your eyes. Gilbert and Ludwig were sitting next to you. You could ask Gilbert about why he was here later. All that mattered was finding out if Gilbird was alive or not. It didn't take long to find the little yellow bird. There, inside of his birdcage, Gilbird was pecking at some milo grain and very much alive.