A Mockingbird In The Crows Nest

Cookie Cloud

When he's floating like this, he doesn't have to do that.

When he's like this, everything is easy.

And sure, maybe he's a coward for wanting to float just so his life is easier, but no one had to know. It's not like they had a mind reader in the tower. (He knows they don't- he checked before Raptor even proposed the idea to the League.)

There's another swear, a hand is under his arm- and Roulette is turning him around and bringing him back down the hall. Tommy can't do anything but follow his lead with molasses sticking to his feet and making them drag against the carpet. As they walked, the rogue muttered to himself while typing away on his phone until they were out in the lounge area of his floor. Tommy blinked slowly, trying to figure out what was going on as Roulette sat him down on a couch.

Then, he grabbed a blanket from a nearby recliner, and promptly threw it over Tommy's head and wings.

Confusion is the first thing to hit him when he registers what just happened, but by then the weight of the blanket has fully settled onto his limbs. He blinks once, twice, then takes a deep breath as his fingers move to slowly grip the blanket edge. Only then does he realize Roulette is muttering something, and his footsteps are pacing in front of him. Against his will, his mind drifts back down to his body as he does his best to tune in.

"-cking ridiculous. How the hell am I even supposed to know if it works on songbird classes?? How do I know if it's working?" A pause. Then, "Don't- piece of shit -I don't want to know about pet songbirds I need to know about songbird avians -"

Tommy makes a confused noise, and the rambling instantly dies. Then the footsteps approach him, and the blanket is lifted up off his head as Roulette's jester mask comes into view.

"Hey, you coming back down?"

Tommy blinks at him and frowns minutely. "..What're you doing?"

"Oh you're talking! That's a good sign, right?" The blanket drops back down, and he flinches a bit when it smacks him in the face. Roulette doesn't move away, and Tommy struggles to find the strength to lift his arms and move the blanket. Before he can though, Roulette says "Yeah, it's probably fine." Then lifts the blanket up again. "Welcome back, kid. How you feelin?"

He furrows his eyebrows a bit more, and he doesn't have the energy to say more than, "Um..Confused? I think? But- What're you doing?"

"Trying to bring you back down to Earth." The rouge pulled the blanket off his head, and Tommy grumbled a bit when it ruffled a few of his feathers out of place. Then he leans against the arm of the couch while scrolling on his phone. "Google said dark places and a bit of weight is supposed to help ground songbirds- but I couldn't find anything about songbird class avians so I just ran with it."

"..So you just decided to treat me like an actual bird?" He looked at the dark haired avian with frustration bubbling in his chest now that he was more aware.