The sparrow blinked, caught off guard by the question. He didn't speak right away. His brows furrowed slightly, as if sifting through something in his mind.
Then, finally, he said—
"You know, recently… you have a strange smell on you now."
The way he said it—quiet, cautious, almost hesitant—made Kaya's gaze narrow.
Kaya's brows pulled slightly together. Her forehead tilted in a soft crease as she asked, a faint note of confusion slipping into her tone,
"Smell? Do I… smell different? Like… maybe from dirt or something?"
The sparrow quickly shook his head.
"No, no—not your body smell. It's not like sweat or mud. It's more like…" he paused, searching for the right word, "a herb. A really bitter one. Like it's stuck to you."
He glanced at her again, more cautiously this time.
"It wasn't there when we first met. But after that… it started coming off you."
