The King Of Las Nevada's And His Prince (Quackbur)

°•° Troublesome °•°

Owls weren’t a common sight in Las Nevada’s. Due to the heavy population and loud civilians, owls rarely appeared. They roamed between the borders of L’manburg and Kinoko Kingdom, nevertheless, during the war, they hadn’t returned. The skies were still polluted with gunpowder and the trees most likely weren't clear of bullet shells yet, so the owls never really had any use in the broken part of the borders.

Owl nests continued to rot in the oak trees parting the border of Kinoko and L’manburg. The thin sticks were now moulting into the soil below. It was disgusting, really, knowing that these endangered animals had to find a new habitat - a new home for their family. They were such beautiful creatures; owls could appear in various colours - brown, grey, white, caramel… sometimes even a midnight black if you searched long enough.

"Tommy, let me see!" A hushed voice bellowed from beside him, breaking the silence that was blanketed over them. He was not yet tall enough to see over the large overgrown bushes they'd hid behind, their jeans soaking into the wet dirt. Tommy hushed him with his finger perched over his light pink lips. Tommy feared if his best friend spoke too loudly, it would stir the quietness and the owl would fly away.

"You're going to scare it away, Tubbo!" Tommy scolded, holding his best friend's wrist in a tight grasp. "And if it flies off, what will you be looking at?"

Tubbo faltered, Tommy's grip loosening. "Nothing…?" The boy responded, unsurely and defiantly.

"Exactly," Tommy answered. The blonde boy sighed, peeking over the large bush. The next few moments passed in silence. The owl's eyes were closed, unmoving on the branch it's little feet clipped onto. It was beautiful, white feathers dusted with speckles of illuminated gold. No words were exchanged from both boys, and Tommy glanced to his right. Tubbo was fiddling with his hands, making no attempt to peek over the hedge anymore. Tommy inhaled.

"Tubbo?"

Tubbo hummed in acknowledgement.

Hesitation.

"... Want a boost?" When his best friend responded with a puzzled look, Tommy kneeled. Tubbo's eyes lit up like a torch.

"Really?" Tubbo questioned, beaming brighter than the sun beating down on them.

"Sure," Tommy responded. "You're not heavy at all, anyway."

Tubbo's small smile dipped downwards when he said, "What about your wings?" His best friend gestured toward Tommy's midnight coloured wings. "Won't I bend them?"

Tommy flinched at Tubbo's words, playing it off with a nonchalant grin. These wings were a mess of matted feathers and the occasional healing bone, so it was quite a sensitive topic. "Like I said, you're not heavy. Hell, you'd be lighter than a pebble to skip."

Tubbo shrugged, climbing onto Tommy's back, feeble and light, as if he were cautious about bending Tommy's precious wings. "S'not my fault you're taller than the Eiffel Tower." Tubbo linked his around Tommy's neck, the blonde grasping the underside of his best friend's thighs, holding him. "Boost, please!"

Tommy slowly manoeuvred himself onto his feet, careful not to disturb the owl resting on the perch. The owl only opened an eye at the rustling to keep them in its sight, but hadn't moved to make a break for the skies. Tubbo gasped. "Awh! It's so pretty, Tommy," he marvelled. "Look at his little face!"

"I can see it, Tubs," Tommy grunted.

"I wanna steal it. Oh! Did we bring the camera?"

"Camera?"

"Yeah!"

"No. No, I didn't," Tommy replied, mentally mapping what they brought, which equaled a few snacks and the house key.