Of a Flock

Chapter Four

Dream was rudely awoken from his sleep of tranquil silence by a scream. His green eyes flashed open and he was on his feet in an instant, panting from the quick movement, and he stared at Techno who banged his hand against the metal cage wall. Giving a quick glance around, his heart beat lowered a bit when he realized it was just the two of them and nobody was dying.

"Where are we?" he asked, smiling in satisfaction when Techno jumped at his voice.

"Gosh, Dream, I didn't know you were awake," he said, holding his chest and leaning forward against the bars.

"I wasn't, a second ago."

"Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to wake you, but I just got frustrated."

Dream nodded and pushed himself under Techno's wing. When he felt the soft feathers brush against his back he shivered, realizing he still didn't have his shirt or sweater, but when he peered past the bars, he completely forgot about his clothes.

"Uh, why are we in the jungle?"

The greenery in front of him was all types of shades. Light, dark, yellow-ish, brown-ish, blue-ish, purple-ish, and bursts of juicy color exploded out. The cheers of other birds called to one another, some challenging and others welcoming. Frogs ribbited, the plants sighed, and in the distance a cat roared, making Dream's wings fluff out.

Techno snorted. "Good question. Why are we here, Dream?"

"I asked you first."

"Just as annoying as Tommy," he muttered, shaking his head. Dream saw something flash in the corner of his eye and he cooed at the hunter's crown.

The avian frowned down at him. "What? Oh. The crown. No, I am not taking it off for you."

"Please—"

"No."

Dream harrumphed and turned away. "Fine. I don't want it." He eyed the leaves that reached out to him and slid his hand through the metal grate to touch them.

Techno made something of a choking noise and Dream turned his head to look at him. "You-you can—Okay, okay, can you try and reach that lock over there?"

He glanced down at the lock by the edge of the cage and took his arm out. "I think I can," he said, slowly drawing his arm towards it. The dull metal didn't really shine at him, and he was able to study it without getting lost in its charm. "But what am I supposed to do after that?"

"You've never been in a cage before?" Techno asked him with a frown.

"No. Not my fault I've been running from them for most of my life."

He shook his head. "I can't believe that a seventeen-year-old has been running from the law with a bounty over his head for years. How do you manage to escape the hunters?"

Dream frowned. "So, do we need a stick in order to break the lock? You seem to be very experienced with cages."

Techno ruffled his feathers and hissed something under his breath. "Yes, we do, try to grab something stick from around here."

He glanced quickly around and reached for a somewhat stiff-looking branch. Quickly shelling off the green leaves and snapping off a sizable piece, he narrowed his eyes at the lock. "What now?"

"Do you know how a lock even works?"

A shrill scream rang out and Dream's heartbeat only slowed down when he realized it was just a monkey. "U-um," he stuttered, swallowing and stopping his quiver. "I-I, I mean, y-yeah." He took a breath and nodded. "I think so."