Aviary // Joshler

// CHAPTER SEVEN

Tyler had never had any siblings, so it was a little odd to be living in a house with so many people. After dressing, he stepped out into the hallway to find many of the other children up and about as well. Upon stepping into the lone bathroom down the hallway, Tyler was forced to brush his teeth alongside Patrick, Jenna, and Sarah.

Still, the feeling of having to share space with others wasn't bad. It kind of appealed to him, in fact. Having something you had to share with others was better than having no one to share with at all, right?

Having so much space was a little odd to him, as well. Tyler had lived in a smaller home with his mother--they'd only ever had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. This house, as a two-story, was kind of huge to him. Secretly, he hoped to explore it after he'd eaten.

After brushing his fluffy hair and adjusting the collar of his sweater, Tyler went downstairs for breakfast. Miss Lindsey was sitting at the dining room table, drinking coffee, while the driver from yesterday--Gerard, Tyler thought his name was--was flipping pancakes on the griddle.

"Good morning, Tyler," Miss Lindsey greeted as she saw him enter the room and take a seat at the table. "I  hope you're hungry. We always have pancakes on Sundays."

"That sounds amazing," Tyler said, feeling cheery as he did. He almost never had pancakes at home, only on birthdays and Christmases.

Breakfast began once all of the children had come downstairs to eat. They were all a mess at the breakfast table, unlike the partial formality of dinner. Everyone was talking and eating and passing pancakes and syrup back and forth. This must be what having a big family was like.

"So, Tyler, you have a thing with birds, right?" Jenna asked, interrupting Brendon's very realistic imitation of Elvis.

All eyes quickly turned to the boy, even Josh's, and he felt heat rising in his cheeks, so unused to having attention from so many people. "Yeah, it's an empathetic thing. They can hear my thoughts, and feel what I'm feeling."

"That's awesome!" Brendon announced as if he were just hearing this for the first time, even though Tyler had mentioned his abilities to the boy yesterday. "Is it with all birds? Like, even chickens?"

Tyler shrugged slightly. "I'm pretty sure they know what I'm thinking, but they just ignore me. They're always staring at me like I interrupted them for the hundredth time." 

Jenna giggled. There was a moth crawling through her bangs. "What about emus, or ostriches?"

"I've never seen one in person before." Tyler felt a smile forming on his face, and noticed Josh turning his attention back to his food. "That would be cool, though."

"You could ride on one!" Brendon suggested enthusiastically, and half of the table erupted into laughter.

The sound of fingernails clinking on the floor broke into the sound of the giggling, and a large dog trotted almost regally into the kitchen. It had fluffy black fur, big brown eyes, and long legs built for running.

Tyler almost gasped. He loved dogs, had wanted once since he was little, but his mother always said they could never afford one.

"Good morning, Frank," Lindsey said, without looking up, taking a sip of her coffee.

"'Morning, Lindsey," the dog replied, and Tyler almost fell out of his chair.

Looking offended, Frank looked over at the shocked boy. "What, you never see a dog talk before?"

As Tyler shook his head, trying not to stare, Jenna giggled. "Don't mind him, Tyler. He just likes messing with people."

"I do not!" Frank protested, then trotted over to take a seat at Gerard's feet. "Pour me some coffee, you asshole. I've been out all morning and I'm far too undercaffeinated for this shit."

"Language, Frankie," Gerard scolded, rolling his eyes, but he did as he was told, and set the coffee cup on the ground. Tyler stared with wide eyes as Frank lapped the drink out of it with his big pink tongue. This must have been the 'strangest thing' here that Josh had mentioned earlier.

Then again, maybe there was more mystery to come. Could it get much weirder than this?

A/N: While writing this I figured that if Frank love the dog so much, he should BECOME the dog
So that's how that happened
I have no regrets