⛓ My beautiful caged songbird ⛓

Chapter 20: Back at the Smp

—Phill’s perspective—    

“I hope you return safely, Phill,” Raven said with a smile as she fanned herself with her black laced fan.

“Y-yes…” he said, feeling utter exhaustion both physically and mentally from the long lecture she gave to him about Dream and making sure to keep his son’s in check. He really wanted to go home now. 

Right when he turned to spread his wings and fly, she called him, making him cringe. “Yes, Ray?” He said warily, looking over his shoulder at her.

“... a last warning,” she said, and he sighed. “And this isn’t just about Emerald…” she hesitated, her eyes narrowing as she contemplated, and that made the hybrid raise his brows. It’s been a long while since he’d been this agitated.

She snapped her fan down on her palm, closing it firmly as she looked at him. “Years ago, Emerald raised a cat and named it Patches. He adored that stray animal the moment he laid eyes on it.”

Phill couldn’t stop himself from making a face. Where was she going with this? “Okay, and?”

“Patches died from old age when Emerald turned 14. However, a month back, my birds discovered that whenever Emerald was alone, ‘Patches’ appeared in front of him.”

He frowned. “The cat was brought back to life?”

She shook her head. “No. It’s a different cat entirely. But Emerald believes that it's the same cat for some reason. My crows even found the boy interacting with the animal.”

“It talks?”

“They found him talking aloud to himself while looking at the cat, so I assume the cat is interacting with him telepathically… But Phill…” she said, and this time her tone went dark and serious, “There’s something off about that animal.”

He gulped.

“I confronted Emerald several times about the cat, but the boy has no recollection encountering that animal whatsoever. He wasn’t lying, otherwise the slave collar would have reacted if he lied. The cat is never there whenever there are other people around Emerald. I sent a couple of my birds to track that animal down… but they never came back to me.” She sucked her breath through her teeth as she folded her arms, her eyes narrowing. “No, rather they could never return because they were torn to shreds in the forest .”

“Shreds!?”

“Phill, while Emerald's on that server, under no circumstances should you ever leave him alone. Never leave him alone as that cat will appear. That cat isn’t normal. And if that animal does willingly appear in front of you, or your sons, or your friends… Don’t try to chase it, or kill it. .. ”

She paused, increasing the tension in the air.

“ Run… just run...”

—Past, Phill’s house, Fundy’s room, morning—

Fundy awoke slowly when he felt the bed shift and the sound of yawning from his lover, which sounded like a cat. He smiled, an eye peaked open.

Dream stretched himself slowly, raising his slender arms high in the air. The porcelain mask shined, reflecting from the warm sun rays that sipped through his room curtains.

Dream slept with that mask on.

Although Fundy respected Dream’s privacy, he worried he would have suffocated with that mask in his sleep.

Dream grabbed Fundy’s black jacket that lay sprawled on the bed, and wore it over his turtle neck shirt before showing his back to the fox hybrid to set a foot down on the floor.