Tommyinnit Oneshots

Songbird

The starts of something not fully developed. A test run of sorts

Golden bars held up a ceiling that could barely contain the knotted tree that grew from the center of the cage. Inside the branches of the tree, a blanket and pillow were positioned comfortably across the trunk, fashioned like a man made nest. Inside the nest, an avian hybrid was playing with a stick, twisting it around his fingertips. His entire attention was drawn to the stick, his focus drawn to the way it moved underneath his control. His long, white feathered wings with red tips were folded around his shoulders, keeping him warm as he played. His blonde hair was a mess of dirt and leaves, his azure blue eyes unwavering as it stared down the stick.

        The sound of metal clicking cut across the near silence. The avian's eyes shot up, hand throwing down the stick as he scrambled across the branches. When he saw the familiar dark green hoodie, the avian jumped from the tree, his wings flapping in an effort to slow his descent. The avian landed on the ground right as the hoodie wearing man finished walking. Usually, the man was in a good mood, but today his face was painted into a snarl. The avian flinched back as the graying eyes stared down at him. The man lifted his hand, twisting it around to motion the avian into action.

        His wings shuddered as he moved around his cage. He dragged a chair over from the small table on the other side of the tree, letting it go once it was behind the man. The avian flew up to his nest, kicking around his stuff until his guitar fell into his grasp. The avian landed before the sitting man, fingers thrumming the cords to figure out if they were in tune. Once he thought it was good enough, the avian began strumming a quiet, calming melody. After a few seconds, his voice sang words alongside the notes.

        Ever since he was a hatchling, Tommy was XD's songbird, his prized position hidden away from the world. Tommy sang like a siren, but more civilized than the stories XD said about the mermaids. His whispers could fluctuate XD's emotions, each cord swiftly masking the real thoughts into what Tommy wanted the listener to feel. When Tommy was little, he wrote his own song, pouring his own emotions into the song. He sang of freedom, of blue skies that beckoned to him like a parent, of how his wings earned to feel the winds of mountains and the ocean and deserts and arctic biomes. Tommy had received a beating and was told that his life was here, that this cage was all he would ever need. Tommy didn't believe XD at the moment, but now he was completely dependent on his owner.

        When Tommy had finished the song, XD looked much calmer, muscles relaxed and eyelids drooping. Tommy didn't move from where he stood, face pointed down towards the ground. He tried taking slow, shallow breaths, as soundless as they could be. After a few painstaking minutes with his vision becoming spotty, XD stood to his feet, thumb pulling Tommy's face up from underneath his chin. "My little songbird."

        Tommy didn't reply. XD preferred his own voice to Tommy's. He was only allowed to talk if XD required an answer from him. XD continued. "I have a surprise for you, for your sixteenth birthday. Did you know some countries have 16 as the legal age for schools or alcohol or marriage?"

Things Tommy would never experience. He barely understood what those concepts were, but he knew enough to know that XD wouldn't like it if he asked to participate in one of the activities. From what he had gathered, 'school' was a collection of the young forms of many species where they were told stories like XD told Tommy. 'Alcohol' was a liquid that muddled in the brain, and 'marriage' was two people coming together in a funny way. When Tommy asked if that meant he and XD were married, XD had turned him into a bloodied mess while repeating that Tommy would never and were not married. He never did mention if he was married or not, Tommy thought about now, but didn't bother to ask. He learned his lesson long ago not to ask questions.

"Well, I suppose you wouldn't," XD concluded with an amused smile, face tilting to the side like he saw Tommy as a puzzle that needed to be solved but in a 'this will be interesting' way and not the 'this is frustrating' way. "My surprise is that I'm giving you a few minutes of flying outside the cage."

No matter how many years Tommy had spent refining his facial expressions, pure shock laid across his face, contorting the structure into something that Tommy never experienced before. XD chuckled at this, standing onto his own two feet. He held out a cuff of a goldish color, grabbing Tommy's wrist. He snapped the cuff on, the material tightening around Tommy's skin. XD led Tommy to the entrance of the cage, hand pushing opening the usually locked doors. He dragged Tommy through, not noticing how wide the avian's eyes had become.

"I don't want you going far, but this is a birthday gift, so enjoy it as much as you can," XD chin pointed towards the blue sky. The sky usually mocked Tommy. It was always there, laughing at the fact that it could be everywhere while Tommy was resigned to a small cage. Tommy wanted to venture beyond the gates that held him captive. He wanted XD to take him to the faraway places he spoke about. Tommy didn't want to stay in one place much longer, he wanted to spread his wings wide and fly, his hand being held by the nicer side of XD. Tommy didn't want to fly, he wanted to soar. He didn't want to be under the sky, he wanted to be a part of it. He wanted to be like the wind that carried his songs out of his cage, allowing the notes to be free while he was stuck.

Now, he was a few steps away from the skyline. He hesitantly reached for the sky, wings puffing out as they prepared to take him into the air, higher and higher. Before Tommy could wimp out, he had shot up, flying above the cage that held him. Tommy felt the cold wind whip at his hair, cutting across his soft cheeks. He circled around for a moment, discovering that his birdcage was actually levitated above the ground, tethered by a staircase that XD took. Tommy was high above the world, everything a mere dot of color against fields of startling green. A blue line curved around the edges of this field, splotches of a darker green rising up from the other side. Tommy had never seen the river or forest before. Tommy wanted to go to them.
He couldn't. As soon as Tommy got far enough, the cuff around his wrist would melt into his skin like hot liquid metal. Tommy shot backwards, XD's laugh ringing in his ears. Tommy avoided the areas were there was pain, but he felt a rush of happiness in the areas that he was allowed freedom to move in. Sure, Tommy could somewhat fly around his cage, but this was complete freedom to move. His cage restrained him. The open air allowed him to explore the intricacies of flight.

Tommy didn't want to come back down, but XD yanked down at his chain. Tommy came back down, landing at the doorway of the cage. XD gave Tommy a head pat as he whispered, "My little songbird."

Tommy's face lit up at the nickname and affectionate touch. Just with that, Tommy was putty for XD to mold. Today, all XD did was guide Tommy back to his tree.