Artemis smiled and watched her go, then entered the office to introduce himself and learn what his duties were to be, exactly. He listened without too much expression appearing on his face, and nodded when he thought it was required. He knew it would take time before he was able to perform most of his duties without being supervised or instructed, but Artemis was willing to learn. And learn he did. Most of the time he was awake, Artemis spent learning how to navigate the manor and estate, the names of the people he worked with now, how to properly dine around humans, and other things that one might not consider important, but he did. Artemis also learned how to better read Shae's fingers, such that, as time wore on, he no longer needed her to write down a translation for him. That, of course, took much more time than Artemis would've liked, for he saw Shae sparingly, whenever she was free of her duties and he of his, or if she found him tinkering away in the shed he called his workspace.
Artemis enjoyed having Shae around, and missed her fiercely when she was gone. He knew she was on the estate, in her tower, taking care of her ravens while also fulfilling her duties to her master. He couldn't go visit her whenever he wanted, for he was kept busy fixing this or that and repairing this or that or doing some kind of preventative maintenance that took up most of his time. He wished he had more time to spend with her, but he couldn't afford to alienate Lord Barkus, nor Shae herself. He didn't quite understand most human customs, but he'd overheard that women didn't like it when men came on too strong, and Artemis feared pushing Shae before she was ready. She didn't understand the bond he now had with her as he understood it. Resonance could be frightening thing for the Starstrider experiencing it, because there was so much left unknown, unexperienced, undecided. It could be even more terrifying for someone not of his race to experience on the receiving end. Until he was sure Shae was receptive for any kind of advance on his part, Artemis would continue being her friend.
He was afraid that too much time would pass before he could see her again, but he found himself one day walking toward the aviary, his bag of tools slung over his shoulder. He'd received orders to go repair a broken cage, as well as anything else the ravenkeeper needed fixed, and so Artemis went, a smile on his face at the thought of spending time with Shae.
He knocked on the door to the tower, calling out, "Shae! Are you in there?"
