Of a Flock

Chapter Two

He saw the smoke before he saw the houses, but his wings were already beating behind his back with a mind of their own, and it was getting harder to keep them still as his own excitement rose up.

Finally, I can probably steal some money and replenish my wallet.

The thought of picking up the shiny coins struck his heart and made his wings flutter even faster. Dream winced at the uncomfortable feeling and thought about taking off his shirt and sweater so his wings could experience some freedom. But just as soon as he thought that, he cast it right out of his mind.

Heck no, I'm not getting used to these things.

He had to take several deep breaths to calm himself down, and to re-learn how to stop stretching his sweater to make his wings less uncomfortable. They tickled against his back, pricking in a lot of places that made him think a fluff piece got stuck in the wrong way. But when he tried to fix them a couple days ago by straightening them out, the pain only hurt more, and so he left them. Dream didn't know if the pain would eventually go away, or if this was the reason why avians did rash things like steal children, but he hoped that there was some way to get rid of it.

Stepping onto the well-trod path of the village, he suddenly realized how odd it looked. There was a tall castle-like building that made him crane his neck back to view them, and a bunch of little huts that lined the path, all with cheerful red roofs and white polka-dots.

As he walked along, he couldn't help but feel like he had stepped into a mushroom cult. Everywhere he looked, there was something that reminded him of the cupped face of a mushroom, in either brown or red, delicately placed as they grew far larger than they should have, jumping with the breeze. It was cool in an odd sense; like the earth here was just different than anywhere else, and Dream wondered how nobody else had found it before. But, he didn't see anything flashy or stand out in the village, other than the odd mushrooms.

Until he suddenly did. The mountain of gleaming silver winked and sparkled, flashing closer and closer to him and Dream let out a warble of high-pitched chirps. His feet moved without his brain even knowing, drawing him closer to the huge object. It grunted and looked at him with deep black eyes before looking away and hefting on.

What is it? So shiny! Want to keep forever! He cawed out a few more times, calling for it, and his wings rustled themselves up. Is that the iron golem? I never knew it was so pretty before! Wait . . .

"Argh!" He shook his head, snapping himself out of his thoughts. "Stupid, stupid bird!" he cursed, crossing his arms and digging his nails into his skin. The iron golem grunted and he resisted the urge to look at it. I don't want to kill it, he thought wistfully, seeing the flashes of light glimmering in front of his closed eyes. But it also gives three iron; something you can't go wrong with.

Groaning loudly and shortly, he turned away. The hem of a bright purple and green sweater caught his eye and he gasped, backing away from the older teenager, who stared at him with wide eyes that peeked out from his brown hair.

"D-did you jest chirp?" he asked, his mouth forming the sounds of English oddly, like he hadn't grown up knowing it. "Like an' avian?"

His mind raced. Who was this guy? How much did Dream already accidentally reveal? "I, uh, y-yeah. I can whistle, and my school sent me out to learn bird calls." Seemed plausible.

His head tilted. "Whassa school?"

Now he was gaping at him. "You never heard of one? Do you not know how to read!"

After a hesitant second, the boy nodded. "I do. I'm able t' read an' write fine. Why?"

"Who taught you?" he asked, looking around the strange city. Only the scuffle of dust was the only thing that moved, other than the teenager. It was eerie, and too quiet.