Flock Wisely

Jay (1)

Jay woke up as he felt Dickie tense up beside him, and that was never a good sign. A tense Dickie usually screamed 'danger', and it didn't calm him any when he found he didn't even know where he was.

It felt like he was laying somewhere soft, really soft, the softest thing he'd felt since he got booted from the laundromat. He was also really warm, and that was even weirder. Sure, it was summer, but he was never this comfortably warm.

So, unfamiliar bed with a worried Dickie. He wasn't a fan of where this was going. But, no, there was no way he wouldn't remember what happened if that was the case, and Dickie wouldn't have let him fall asleep. Where was Lil' Tim?

That was all besides the point, though. The point was Dickie was worried about something, which meant that there was something to worry about, so he snapped his eyes open and looked over to him, noticing the weight draped over his legs that a quick pat identified as Lil' Tim, and that was good. At the very least, the three of them were together. He quickly looked over the other two boys and was relieved to find they didn't have any new injuries that he could see, though that didn't mean there weren't any there. Dickie relaxed a little as Jay woke up, though Jay was well aware that the boy wasn't actually relaxing, just forcing himself to so Jay Didn't worry. Kinda had the opposite effect, but at least he was trying. Dickie was sitting up and staring forward and-Woah, where were they, it looked like a castle ripped straight out of a novel. He didn't have time to think it through beyond that before he heard a sharp knock on the door. Even Lil' Tim jolted awake at that, eyes wide in confusion as he moved to cling to Dickie be default, the little bugger.

"Young sirs, will you be joining us for breakfast or are you planning to sleep in?" A dizzy-aged voice rang through the door, not demanding but expecting a response. His eyes flitted immediately to Dickie, who had that stupid dazzling grin cutting open his face on instinct, even if the door hadn't opened. He flinched a little at the sight, wiping the look off Dickie's face faster then it had appeared. All three of them were sitting up on the bed by now. Lil' Tim was squeezed between him and Dickie, clinging to Jay's arm but his head dropping onto Dickie's shoulder. The three of them threw tense looks between them, unsure how to respond, until Lil' Tim opened his flap.

"Breakfast, Sir?" He called out curiously, and Jay's stomach growled involuntarily at the thought. He knew he had eaten yesterday after they did that favor with The Bat, cause the old man took them to Miss Hattie's Bakery and told them all to pick whatever they wanted to eat. Lil' Tim seemed to be the only one who even knew how to navigate the bakery, and it was kinda cute the way Lil' Tim rambled directions and tips to the two of them. Him and Dickie didn't catch a lick of what the kid had said, of course. Dickie just grabbed the biggest loaf he could find, some nutty bread, and Jay had just picked the most expensive thing they had to see what the old man would do about it. The geezer just nodded and bought the bread, while Lil' Tim picked a fruity-cinnamon roll with a nostalgic glint in his eye that had Jay biting back questions about the kids past. Kid didn't talk much about himself. Fair, cause none of them really did.

After that, the old man had fallen into some delusion about The Bat actually adopting them, and they saw a huge fire in the distance, and the coot had all but run out of the bakery. Jay didn't even think he noticed the three of them scamper into the carriage behind him until they were well on their journey. Then they had received a lecture about hopping into carriages without telling people, which the three of them had ignored in favor of trying to figure out why they had followed the man in the first place. And then they- wait.

"Yes, young master. It's an odd ritual in which occupants of the house gather to eat the first meal of the day, perhaps you've heard of it? Master Bruce and Miss Kyle are awaiting your arrival, but I can inform them you won't be attending." The voice quipped in a British accent, and oh god was that an actual thing that happened? He shot a questioning look at Dickie and noticed Lil' Tim do the same as he arrived at the same marveling question. Dickie rolled his eyes as he tried to play off their awe and nodded to the silent question.