Happy Birthday Marco

Marco

Marco had just been in the storage room of their ship. He was sifting through old archive items from about thirty years ago. What he found surprised him. An old photograph, already yellowed. He held it in his hand and looked nostalgically at his own young face. It was the early years of his life, where he had just been rescued by the Pops... Well, why not reminisce about those old years....

--- 30 years ago ---

It was like that, as usual, he had to scramble for food and found it in a crate that the guard who was securing it had left for a moment to smoke a cigarette. Young Marco threw himself on the last bit of food he had left and voraciously inhaled all the fruit. It tasted awful. But this wasn't the first time Marco had eaten something mouldy or not fresh.... It was enough that his stomach wouldn't grumble so much any more. However, before he could get away from the guard, he turned and shouted to him to stop as Marco was already ready to run. The blonde stiffened and his eyes with dark circles under them quivered, he took a few steps back, but before it could turn into a run, someone behind him halted him with one hand on his thin shoulder.

"Don't try." Said the person behind him. Marco was trembling all over and started to try and pull himself out of his tormentor's arms. However, the strength of a grown, healthy man trumped his childlike form combined with starvation and emaciation.

"L-Let me go!" He howled, trying to break free from this death grip. But the man only laughed and threw him over his shoulder.

"He ate the fruit." Said the first one.

"I guessed." Replied the second one. Marco was thrashing around, screaming in a high-pitched voice, but he couldn't escape... it was the end of him, they would kill him. The man slammed his head against the wall, causing Marco to lose consciousness. He regained it later, and when he woke up... he felt different. His body was heavy, but fluffy?

How to put it, he didn't feel like himself.

He blinked his eyes to adjust his vision and then... bars. Golden bars. He wanted to grab them, but all he heard was rustling... like feathers. He craned his neck back and saw a fluffy chest... not his. He panicked. The boy began to slam from one wall of the cage to another, to make this illusion disappear. He was in some room, around him, only white walls, some chests, drawers, no people. He hit his head on the bars and felt a strong pain, he made a screeching sound, not like a human. What happened to him? It's impossible... could his life get any worse? His wings fluffed up... he made small bird sounds until finally a light chirping... was he a bird? It was strange, very strange! He wants to go back- Actually... he has nowhere to go back to, is the street where he wants to be now? Maybe it's better here- But before he could finish that thought... The door to the room opened quickly.

He looked up and saw a person in a white outfit with a bubble on his head. His body subconsciously tensed up. The person had the two guards from earlier behind him. They approached his cage and opened the doors. He thought they were letting him out but all he got was a grab by his neck and being held there until something was put on it. He choked and started to wheeze to get rid of the feeling that something was pressing down on his throat. But the sounds were only deafened grunts. The bird's body was not able to make such throat movements.

"Please forgive us for such a delay in delivering the pet for you..." The first guard bowed to the white person. Marco was confused. Why would they want to hurt him like that? He was breathing heavily on the floor of the cage, his body tired.

"Hah, it's enough that I finally have it, and you will still get punished by my daddy!" Marco saw the guards flinch but bow to this white person once again.

"Our sincerest apologies, Saint Christopher." The white person looked at the young boy, who felt the cold wind on his back, this did not bode well. Could it be that the new body gave him new instincts? It was very unpleasant.