"What about Poppy?" Tommy tried, earning a squawk of disapproval from the crow.
He huffed and leaned his head against the window, continuing to run his fingers down the bird's back as she sat in his lap. They'd arrived back in the attic not that long ago, and now they just had to wait for Sam to come up and help him with her wing. And to pass the time, he was trying to pick a name for her; and so far, all of them had been rejected.
"Aw c'mon, Poppy's a pretty name! And a pretty bird needs a pretty name." He cooed, scratching under her chin. She made a soft warbling noise, closing her eye as he pet her.
"Fine, if you don't like Poppy, then what do you like?" He asked, like he was expecting an answer. He didn't get one, of course; but Tommy still hummed like she'd responded. "Maybe something fancier? You're pretty lively. Maybe your name should reflect that?" He wondered aloud. "What about Orchid?" She pecked his finger, meaning that was a no.
He chuckled and leaned his head back, wracking his brain and trying to think back to his brief time in the orphanage. He couldn't remember too much since he ran off at 8 years old, but he could faintly remember some names of some of the other kids. Surely one of them had to have a pretty name that the bird would like.
His mind ran through the faded memories he had of that place, trying to find one that he could latch onto. But before he could, there was a soft knock on the hatch, dragging him back to the present. That must be Sam.
"Come in!" Tommy swung his legs around and slid off the window seat, still cradling the bird to his chest. The trapdoor opened, and Tommy opened his mouth to thank Sam for coming, but he stopped when he was met with red eyes instead of green.
Ranboo seemed just as startled as he was; outright gaping at him as his face grew increasingly anxious and panicked. Tommy took a step back, knowing he was still probably upset about what he said this morning. Ranboo ducked his head back down- like he was going to leave -but someone else with a head full of brown curls stuck his head in. His bangs covered his eyes, but he could see his lips turn down in a frown as he looked at Ranboo. Somehow, Ranboo understood whatever look the boy gave him, and just gave him a small nod before ducking his eyes down.
That seemed to rile up the brown haired boy, because he was leaping into Tommy's room and crossing the distance over to him. "You!" He demanded, his voice accusatory. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I- What??" Tommy blinked, genuinely taken aback by the boy's anger. "What did I do??"
"What do you mean 'What did you do'???" He shoved his finger into Tommy's face. "Who the hell do you think you are saying something like that to Ranboo?!"
After a beat more of confusion, he blinked as the pieces finally fell into place. This new boy was sticking up for Ranboo. Tommy frowned as his guilt came back full force, taking a small step back to get his finger out of his face. "I- If this is about what I said at breakfast-"
"Yeah, it fucking is." His lips screwed down in a scowl; and although the boy's hair covered his eyes, he could feel the intense glare.
"-but I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Tommy continued. "I've just- I've never seen anyone with red eyes before or-" He cut himself off, waving a hand as he tried to remember the word Puffy had used. "Vitlingo? Virtrigo?"
"Vitiligo.." Ranboo corrected quietly, sliding into the room with a medkit in his lap and his eyes still trained on the floor.
"Yeah, that.." Tommy swallowed. "I swear I didn't mean to be mean. It just-" He ducked his eyes to the ground, shrinking under the fierce gaze the shorter boy was giving him under his bangs. "Slipped out.."
