Swamped

You're a little tired of these guys doing whatever they want with barely a word of explanation. You're going to see what they're doing.

"Are you sure about that?" a voice says suddenly. You turn around and see Ember. It takes you a moment to remember his little trick.

"You know, it's real unsettling when you do that without warning."

"Sorry," he says, and you think he means it. "Had it on because it's about the only way to get anything out of those two. But the point is, what if you get them upset? Your little arrangement here is rather precarious, and I'm the one who's out something if it goes wrong."

"I'm just going to watch. I doubt they'll hurt the bird, and that's the only reason I'd have to interfere."

"They may not like being watched."

"Is that something your spell told you? Or just a guess?"

He sighs.

"Fine, go ahead. But if it costs me my whistle, I'll expect you to make up for it somehow."

You suppose he's got a point. But you're still going to watch.

You do keep your distance, though. You only get close enough to take a look at what they're doing.

One of them seems to be standing guard. The other is tending to the bird's wound - the bolt's already been removed. The bird seems about as agitated as it did when you got near, but it's not hostile. More... annoyed, if you had to guess?

The Protector on guard suddenly catches sight of you.

"Everything's fine here. Get back to work," he says.

Well. He's not really hostile, so hopefully Ember's worries were overblown. It does seem you've soured the relationship slightly, but maybe it would be better in the first place if they'd just open up a little...

Wait. What's the other Protector doing now? That seems a little odd.