Heirs Unapparant | A Miraculous Origin Story

Chapter 12: Catch Twenty-Two (قبض على اثنين وعشرين)

The sensation of feathers was still abundant around his neck as Nicholas finally began to stir what felt like several short hours later. It was a moment or two later before he realized that was due to the kwami still nestled up to his chest, snoring quietly and, for the most part, contentedly as well.

"G'morning, Lorr," he said with a yawn. He extended his arms for a stretch, blinking away mountains of sleep, and glanced around at his empty, yet perfectly organized bedroom--

--and realized it wasn't as empty as he'd thought.

Two wide hazel eyes peered down at him and a curious and playful grin spread across the boy's face as he situated himself at the end of the bed, staring at boy and kwami with the most hope a six-year-old could possibly give.

"GAH! NINO!" Nicholas shrieked, leaping back to the head of his bed and instantly throwing his hands over a startled and confused Lorr, ignoring the squawks of indignant protest. "WHAT are you DOING in here?"

"My room," Nino pointed out reasonably. "Yous said we go to park." He never took his eyes off of the struggling semi-hidden kwami. "Why hiding bird?" he inquired, tilting his head sweetly.

Nicholas panicked. "Bird? What bird? I don't have a bird! I have...a toy! Yes! This is just a stuffed animal! Like the ones you have all over your bed!"

You are such a horrible liar, Nicholas Lahiffe.

"Nu-uh!" Nino argued, scooting closer now and trying to pull Nicholas's hands apart to get to Lorr. "Not stuffed a-animal! Bird! Pet bird! Pet shop! Feathers! You allergic to feathers! Turtle no feathers! Turtle better pet!" He giggled and Nicholas only scooted further away from his brother, mind whirling too fast to try and process what his sibling found so funny.

"Okay, yes," he said sharply, thinking on his feet. "This is my bird. And he's hurt, see?" At the same time, he focused all of his thoughts as hard as he could to get through to the kwami. Pretend to be mortally injured!

He slowly opened his hands and Lorr promptly fell into a limp position, head flopping to the side and tongue lolling dramatically from his beak, chest heaving as though he had been stabbed right through the heart. He gave a tiny cough for good measure.

Nino raised an eyebrow at the bird, looking far too cute and innocent as he did so. Then, before Nicholas could move to stop him, he lunged forward to snatch the kwami from the older brother's grasp and hold Lorr close to his chest.

"Nino, no!" Nicholas yelled, leaping up and scrambling after his sibling. "Give him back! He's mine! Be careful with him!"

"You scaring him!" Nino cried, dancing back out of Nicholas's reach. Lorr squeaked fearfully, struggling to break free from the boy's interlocked grip. "He scared! It okay, little birdie," he went on gently, cradling the kwami in his arms. "You get better. We help you."

"Nino," Nicholas pleaded through clenched teeth. "Please give him back. He's not a toy. He doesn't like being held like that! He's not a baby!" He straightened, using the edge of the bed to steady himself, his free hand going to hold his sides, still aching from the painful beating he had received. Thankfully, it seemed Lorr had absorbed most of the damage, but the dull pain was still there under the surface.

Nino's hawk-like vision immediately honed in on this weakness and his eyes grew even rounder and Nicholas, seeing this, winced and took a small step backward under the slightly upset glare. There may have been a difficulty with the child's pinpointing his exact location, but it didn't matter. The look was clear enough. "Nino..." he began slowly, holding out his hand. "Please, give him back to me. He needs to stay close to me so I can keep him safe."