This Wasn't What I Expected When You Told Me to Meet Under the Christmas Tree

Child Acquired

Jimmy fell fast as he holds the small bundle of joy in his arms. A baby wrapped in a red bed sheet sleeps soundly in their father's hold. 

Jimmy can feel his brain starting to go fuzzy as he stared at his child. And void​​​​- he was a father! He had his own nestling!

Jimmy could hear Joel say something as he tried to take the child from his hold. No- no! They are his nestling. Jimmy took a step back as Joel explained why he couldn't keep them. Jimmy didn't like that one bit.

It only took a matter of seconds as the words registered in his head and his brain went full bird mode. His golden wings twitched and he was gone. The sounds of the other could be heard as they took flight too. But Jimmy was a natural flyer and with a bit of Listener powers, he was gone before the other could get remotely close.

It took five minutes of flight for Jimmy's brain to stop thinking of escape routes and instead start thinking about nest. His baby was only a nestling, they needed the best nest he could provide. 

He let out an unhappy chirp when he realized that he didn't have a base, let alone a nest, of his own that he could go to. And so he started to think about his flockmates that lived on this server.

His immediate thought was Tango, his mate, but he doubted the male had a ready nest just sitting around. And a small part of Jimmy brain whisper about how Tango would react to Jimmy bringing home a child that he had with someone else, rationally Jimmy knew Tango wouldn't mind but bird brain Jimmy didn't think that so Tango wouldn't work.

Jimmy's next thought was Scar. He and the man had grown close over the time they had spent in Tumble Town. 

While Scar may be flock, he definitely wasn't a avian and probably didn't have a nest. Plus a voice in the back of his mind whispered about how accident prone the other was. And while he trust Scar with his life, his bird brain did not trust him with his nestlings life.

And that left Grian. He would definitely have a nest somewhere seeing as the other is a avian. Plus with him being a Watcher Jimmy knew he could protect his nestling.

The downsides was that Grian and Joel are friends. But Grian is flock so Jimmy takes the risk and makes his way towards Grian's base.

Grian had not expected to find Tim at his base. 

Timmy was clearly deep in bird brain and was chirping up a storm when he laid eyes on Grian. In his arms rest a baby wrapped snuggly in a red bed sheet, unconscious to the world around it.

Help-nest-safety

Tim chirped at him. He moved his arms slightly to show off the baby a bit more, as if Grian hadn't noticed it yet.

'He's really out of it huh?' Grian thought as he leads Tim to his nest. 

The nesting room had high ceilings and was pretty dark. Blanket and pillows laid out in a way only Grian's own bird brain understood. Though the center piece sat towards the back on a platform a couple blocks from the ground. 

'A way a nest should be. No avian should be grounded' Grain thought and it seems Jimmy agreed.

Grian watches as Jimmy takes a spot in the nest for him and his nestling. Cause that was what they were, a nestling, and not just any nestling but Jimmy's nestling.

Grian checked the chest that sat a bit outside the nest for food and water as the father adjusted the nest for him and his child.

It took a moment but Jimmy finally settled down, his wings were no longer puffed up and his eyes stopped switching between incredibly wide to sharp and narrow as he looked around.

Grian stood silently, his own bird brain called for him to join his flockmate in the nest but the more rational part told him that doing so without permission would upset the new father. 

As if reading Grian's mind, Timmy turned to him and let out a low and soft trill that told Grian all he needed to know before he was entering the nest gently.

Later when they were in their right minds they would talk this over. Name the nestling and talk with a few others but for now, they lay in the nest. Happy and content.